It feels like Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens makes headlines for negative reasons on a weekly basis. This week, it comes off of his post-game scrum with Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome after the final play of the game that saw Russell Wilson launch a Hail Mary to the end zone. Pickens was also fined following the Steelers’ win over the Washington Commanders for slamming defensive back Mike Sainristil to the ground. Speaking on First Take, former NFL MVP Cam Newton came to the defense of Pickens and explained why every team needs someone like him.

“He’s a crash-out,” Newton said. “We love him. He’s the dog on the team. Is he fake tough? No, he’s a dog, official dog. When I look at the health of a healthy team, there are certain things that you need. You need guys like George Pickens. They’re the quote unquote very talented, rebellious guys that give you that grit, that toughness. So the thing about that is you can’t have too many George Pickens on your team because it’s going to make it undisciplined. You need just a great mixture of crash-outs or rebellious guys and choir boys.”

Pickens is having the best year of his career, ranking third in receiving yards entering the Sunday slate of action. As long as he continues to produce and his teammates love him, his antics will be more than tolerated.