Steelers’ Jaylen Warren Criticizes George Pickens for Failing to Block vs. Colts

The Pittsburgh tailback weighed in on the wide receiver’s decision to not block for him during a possession in the team’s loss in Week 15.

Steelers running back Jaylen Warren told reporters Wednesday that he would have put his body on the line to block for George Pickens, despite the wide receiver failing to do so for him in Pittsburgh’s 30–13 loss to the Colts on Saturday.

“It is what it is,” Warren said, per Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “At the end of the day, [Pickens] was doing what he thought was best for him. Some people play the game differently. If I was in that position, I would have blocked for him. But we play differently.”

Pickens previously said he didn’t block for Warren because he didn’t want to risk getting “injured” and being in a similar situation to Texans wide receiver Tank Dell, who suffered a season-ending leg injury while blocking in Week 13.

Eddie Faulkner, the Steelers’ interim offensive coordinator, said the team confronted Pickens about his failure to block for Warren as well as shying away from tackling Colts safety Justin Blackmon after he registered the interception off a pass from quarterback Mitch Trubisky during the contest.

Despite Pickens’s recent effort, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told reporters that the wide receiver will play in the team’s game against the Bengals in Week 16. Pittsburgh (7–7) will play host to Cincinnati (8–6) on 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.