George Pickens had a solid rookie year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the wide receiver is ready for a second-year leap.

"Year 2 goals are Pro Bowl, and I feel like last year I feel like I got snubbed," he said. "Cause there wasn't a lot of guys in there at the Pro Bowl that excited me. Then the Super Bowl. The two bowls. A lot of RAC, run after catch. Two bowls for sure."

Pickens finished his rookie season with 52 catches for 801 yards and four touchdowns.

Kenny Pickett doesn't have any hard feelings toward Ben Roethlisberger after the former Pittsburgh Steelers star said he wasn't rooting for the 2022 first-round pick to succeed immediately.

"He's honest," Pickett said. "He's out front about it, and he's a fan now and he's pulling for us and it was really cool to hear him say that. ... I think we're just going to continue to build on that relationship.

"I'm excited to go into Year 2 with another guy in my corner."

When Roethlisberger recently hosted Pickett on his podcast, "Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger," the retired Steeler admitted to feeling conflicted about the rookie taking over the starting job.

"I'll be completely honest, I'll be super transparent here, and I'm gonna get blasted," Roethlisberger said. "I probably shouldn't say this, but who cares at this point. I wouldn't say that I wanted Kenny to necessarily fail, but when someone comes to replace you, I still feel like I had it, I hope he doesn't come ball out. Because then it's like, Ben who?"

Roethlisberger continued, telling Pickett: "Early on I didn't want you to succeed because you followed me up -- I didn't want it to happen. I think that's probably the selfishness of me, and I feel bad for it."

Ben Roethlisberger found it hard to accept Kenny Pickett as the new face of the Pittsburgh Steelers last season.

The retired quarterback had Pickett as a guest on his podcast, "Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger," and admitted he initially didn't want the then-rookie to have immediate success.

"I'll be completely honest, I'll be super transparent here, and I'm gonna get blasted," Roethlisberger said.

"I probably shouldn't say this, but who cares at this point. I wouldn't say that I wanted Kenny to necessarily fail, but when someone comes to replace you, I still feel like I had it, I hope he doesn't come ball out. Because then it's like, Ben who?"

Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season following 18 seasons with the Steelers, two Super Bowl wins and several franchise records set.

The Steelers selected Pickett with their first-round draft pick last year, and he broke into the lineup in Week 4 and became the starter the next week, leading the Steelers to a 9-8 record after the team started 2-6.

"Early on I didn't want you to succeed because you followed me up -- I didn't want it to happen. I think that's probably the selfishness of me, and I feel bad for it," Roethlisberger told Pickett.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are finalizing a two-year contract extension with Mitch Trubisky, according to a source.

The former No. 2 overall pick had one year left on his contract.

Trubisky was set to count $10.6 million against the cap for the 2023 season, and the extension offers cap flexibility, while also giving Trubisky security as a top-tier backup. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to re-sign Mason Rudolph, according to league sources.

Rudolph signed a one-year extension that expired after the 2022 season.

Re-signing him would allow the Steelers to keep the quarterback room from last year intact with Kenny Pickett entering his second season and Mitch Trubisky also under contract for 2023.