Steelers GM: George Pickens Contract Extension a 'Desire' After 'Solid Exit Meeting'

The Pittsburgh Steelers' top wide receiver is just a year away from entering free agency for the first time, but after a "solid exit meeting," they hope to sign George Pickens to an extension before another team gets the chance to sign him in free agency next offseason.

"I had a really solid exit meeting with GP, and I can tell you that he has a desire to be great," general manager Omar Khan said Tuesday morning at the scouting combine, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "He has a desire to be great here. We have a desire for him to be great and to be great here, with respect to the contract.

"We won't discuss that publicly and usually those things are addressed at a later date."

Pickens, a second-round pick out of Georgia in 2022, is coming off a season in which he recorded 900 receiving yards and three touchdowns despite missing three games due to a hamstring injury. The 2023 season gave a glimpse into the kind of receiver Pickens can be at the height of his career, as he tallied a career-high 1,140 yards and five touchdowns.

Assuming he's healthy in 2025, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark once again seems like a reasonable goal for Pickens.

As good as Pickens has been, his behavior on the field has raised red flags within the Steelers organization. He received a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct flags in Week 13 against the Cincinnati Bengals and was involved in a handful of scuffles throughout the year, including one with Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome on a Hail Mary attempt in Week 12.

According to Pryor, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said in January that Pickens made strides in his conduct during the 2024 season but still has work to do.

"There's certainly obviously more room for growth there," he said in January. "I think he covered some ground in 2024, but there's certainly a heck of a lot more ground to be covered, and we'll see where it leaves us."

Khan emphasizing that he and Pickens had a good exit meeting suggests that he's trending in the right direction, enough for Pittsburgh to pursue an extension.