After the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Los Angeles Chargers in horrendous fashion on Sunday Night Football, losing 25-10 in a game in which the Steelers never looked competitive at all, there were many questions brought up about the state of the team on both sides of the ball. The offense couldn’t get anything going whatsoever, with current Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers playing one of his worst games ever as a professional, completing 16 of 31 passes for 161 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The defense failed to stop Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert when it mattered most, allowing him to give his wide receiver Ladd McConkey a 107-yard performance on only four receptions.
One major criticism the Steelers faced in recent weeks was their inability to get Rodgers additional help on the offense, particularly at wide receiver. Before the season started, the Steelers traded for current wide receiver DK Metcalf. However, they traded away former wide receiver George Pickens two months later, depriving Rodgers of a solid second option at the receiver position.
Speculation has existed for a long time on why Pickens was traded away and if it was the best move for the Steelers. On 93.7 The Fan, insider Mark Kaboly recently made an appearance to discuss a wide range of topics, and the conversation shifted to whether or not the Steelers should have kept Pickens. Kaboly’s comments in response to the question are telling about what could have been brewing in the Steelers’ locker room with Pickens present.
“I don’t think that was possible,” Kaboly said. “I think that was out of his hands, it was in the players’ hands at that point. The players were done with him. Key players were done with him. They were not happy with the way he conducted himself, and it was just time.”
Kaboly saying that Pickens essentially ran himself out of town is concerning. Pickens is an incredible player in terms of talent, and it shows in the games he has played for the Dallas Cowboys throughout the 2025 season. The Steelers essentially sacrificed a solid option for Rodgers behind Metcalf to keep the locker room unified, which in some ways, has been a positive change for the team while serving as a negative change in others.
The Steelers’ wide receiver room has been praised recently for the attitude adjustment within the locker room, and keeping Pickens when certain players may not have wanted him to remain with the team would have undermined the progress made to keep the positive attitude adjustments going. Even with how Pickens could have revolutionized the offense behind Metcalf, the rift that it could have created within the locker room could have derailed the season before it even started.
Kaboly’s comment regarding Pickens having no real say in his future in Pittsburgh is interesting in another way as well. Even with Pickens gone, the Steelers need to make important changes on offense to make up for the production Pickens would have given them.
The Steelers have many different options on the offensive side of the ball that have been underutilized at times, with some of these cases leading to the team losing critical games. Even though the team tried to get another receiver for Rodgers, the team should also focus on getting players like current tight end Darnell Washington more snaps. Washington only saw one target in the game against the Chargers, which he caught for 15 yards. Washington’s snap count needs to increase to make him a more pivotal piece in the offense to serve the role that Pickens would have served had he remained in Pittsburgh.
Tyleik Williams has been playing less and less on Sundays lately.
The Lions’ first-round rookie, who they selected 28th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft back in April, played just eight defensive snaps in Detroit’s 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
This comes after he saw just 11 snaps in the Lions’ 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9 and 22 in their 24-9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7. He had averaged 30.5 snaps in Detroit’s first six games,
Defensive tackle Alim McNeill’s return from injury against Tampa Bay would definitely explain a general decrease in snaps for the rookie. But to be playing less than a third of his average early-season snap count? There’s got to be more to it than that.
“Tyleik’s just a young guy that is continuing to get better and growing,” Campbell said on his weekly radio appearance on 97.1 The Ticket. “There’s a little inconsistency at times, but that’s not out of the norm. Correct it, get a little bit better, and move on.”
It hasn’t been the most productive season for Williams. He currently has six tackles, one tackle for loss, and three passes defended on the year. Although, admittedly, it’s tough to quantify a defensive lineman’s impact using the box score.
McNeill isn’t the only interior lineman playing over Williams. There’s, of course, veteran run stuffer D.J. Reader, who’s played over half of the Lions’ defensive snaps this season. And Roy Lopez, signed this offseason from Arizona, has out-snapped Williams in the last two games (14 and 12).
Lopez had two tackles for loss against Washington, including half a sack.
“He’s playing at a high level, man,” Campbell said about Lopez. “It’s one of the reasons we wanted him here. He’s an outstanding role player for us. When he comes in, we don’t miss a beat, man. He can lift the point of attack, man. He can. He’s one of those guys, man. He plays with leverage. He’s stout, he’s strong, he’s explosive.”
The Lions love Lopez for his violent playing style and strength. He’s quietly been one of their best additions, even if it means keeping their first-round pick on the bench to get Lopez more opportunities.
“The hard thing for [Tyleik Williams], which is a good thing for all of us, is [Alim McNeill] is playing good, [DJ] Reader’s playing good, [Roy] Lopez is playing good,” Campbell said. “So like, hey man, you got some good players in front of you right now, and so what you do is elevate his game, and then he’ll be in front of them.”
It’s still very early in Williams’ career, and like Campbell said, Detroit has a good problem to have at defensive tackle. But the Lions have clearly issued a challenge to him to play better and make more of his opportunities. We’ll see if he can get back in Campbell’s good graces.