WR George Pickens Delivers Social Media Message to Steelers.
With quarterback Justin Fields coming to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a discussion around the No. 1 jersey has resurfaced around the organization. On April 5, Steelers wide receiver George Pickens joined the conversation.
Pickens appeared to campaign for the right to wear No. 1 in his Instagram story.
“@steelers cmon man,” wrote Pickens as a caption to a photoshopped image of himself wearing a No. 1 jersey.
Pickens also included a “1” block emoji in the caption.
Steelers Depot’s official X (formerly Twitter) account interpreted Pickens’ post as him advocating to wear No. 1.
“George Pickens still pushing for that No. 1 jersey on IG,” wrote Steelers Depot.
Like Fields, Pickens wore No. 1 in college. Fields also donned No. 1 for three seasons with the Chicago Bears.
But no one has worn No. 1 in a regular season game for the Steelers since the 1994 season. Pickens has worn No. 14 in his first two seasons in Pittsburgh.
On April 4, the Steelers announced Fields would wear No. 2 this season.
Why George Pickens, Justin Fields Can’t Wear No. 1 for the Steelers
It’s unclear if Fields attempted to get No. 1 in Pittsburgh. One could argue that based on Pickens’ Instagram story post, Fields probably did.
However, it’s pretty clear Pickens wants to wear No. 1. If the jersey number was available in the Steelers organization, the receiver would probably already be wearing it. It’s unlikely the team would be willing to give the number to Fields but not Pickens.
The last player to wear No. 1 for the Steelers was kicker Gary Anderson. He donned No. 1 for the team from 1982-1994.
Anderson finished his career kicking for the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans. But he kicked longer in Pittsburgh than the other four teams combined.
Furthermore, Anderson is the all-time points leader in Steelers history. His 1,343 points is nearly 400 more than any other Steelers player.
