George Pickens reveals he made no effort to set block because he ‘didn’t want to get injured’
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George Pickens was looking out for his own health Saturday night.
When the Steelers ran a run play inside the red zone in the first quarter of an eventual blowout loss to the Colts, the wide receiver was near the goal line and notably did not set a block on the Indianapolis defense.
Jaylen Warren broke inside the five-yard line but was eventually stopped short of the end zone.
Pickens explained Tuesday that he did not make the play because of what he saw happened to Texans wide receiver Tank Dell, whose season was cut short after he fractured a fibula while run blocking near the end zone.
“I was trying to prevent a Tank Dell situation,” Pickens told reporters, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I didn’t want to get injured. When you stay in and block somebody, you can get run on very easily.”
It came after a “Thursday Night Football” loss in Week 14 to the Patriots when Pickens was called out by analyst Kirk Herbstreit for not setting a block in that game.
“He’s kind of taking the play off,” Herbstreit said. “I think it sends a message to me, to your team. I look at receivers when it comes to their willingness to block and the effort that they’re willing to put forth.
“It kind of represents the pulse of the team. Bad look.”
Pickens then took a shot at the media for his perceived lack of effort.
“Everybody is mad when you lose,” the receiver added. “A lot of media guys want to say it’s my frustrations, but it’s losing. I’m pretty sure everyone is mad, not just me.”
Before the Indianapolis game, Pickens met with head coach Mike Tomlin about his play this season.
And while the Steelers coach said he’s seen some better things from Pickens, the lack of a block in that situation stood out.
“I thought he was better but still has obviously, room for continued improvement,” Tomlin told reporters Monday. “[The non-block is] one of the examples that I’m talking about in terms of still obvious room for improvement.”
In his second year in the league, Pickens has already matched his catch total from last season with 52 grabs and has racked up 814 receiving yards.
But mixed in between some great games, Pickens has four efforts in which he notched fewer than 30 yards, including a Week 14 game when he finished with two catches and -1 yard.
It’s been a roller-coaster season for the Steelers, who fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada in hopes of sparking a middling offense.
But after the Colts loss, the team sits at 7-7 and will be giving third-string QB Mason Rudolph the start this weekend after backup Mitch Trubisky was benched at the end of Saturday’s game.
“I know that we better do some things differently,” Tomlin said after the last defeat. “We better approach some things differently. We’re not going to roll that ball out there like that next week.”
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