Most Steelers fans didn’t expect to wake up Wednesday morning hearing about a George Pickens trade. The Steelers receiver was sent to the Dallas Cowboys, with a 2026 third-round pick being the main return for the Steelers.
It felt like weird timing, to say the least. There were rumors that the teams were negotiating a Pickens trade before and during the NFL Draft. When the draft came and went, most started to feel that Pickens would remain with the Steelers for the 2025 season after all.
Clearly, that’s not the case. Providing more context on the situation, NFL insider Ian Rapoport joined The Insiders to shed some light on the recent negotiations between Dallas and Pittsburgh.
“This was just the right time to do this deal,” Rapoport said. “The two sides did talk before the draft, there was some hope from the Cowboys that this would get done before the draft… Obviously did not happen, and so here we are today.”
It would make sense that both sides might have wanted the deal done before the draft. That way, the Steelers would have a pick they can use on a player for 2025 instead of having to stash it away. The Cowboys would have also liked a clearer picture regarding their draft capital.
The Cowboys’ upping their offer seems to be the reason the trade happened now. Dianna Russini reported Wednesday that the Cowboys initially offered a fourth-round pick. Pittsburgh ended up getting a third-rounder as the main piece instead. Comparing that report to Rapoport’s timeline, things start to get clearer.
Dallas likely offered a fourth-rounder in their negotiations during the draft. The Cowboys didn’t add a receiver in the draft, and had a massive hole at the position outside of CeeDee Lamb. So, they upped their offer to a third-round pick this week, which Pittsburgh felt was a fair return.
While it’s easy to judge the deal now, it may take some time to see how things work out in the long run for both sides. The Cowboys arguably have a top-five receiving duo in the NFL. They’re pairing that with an excellent quarterback in Dak Prescott. They’ll have to think about a Pickens extension, who coincidentally has the same agent as Micah Parsons. So Jerry Jones will surely enjoy that.
For a team in win-now mode like Dallas is, it makes sense. As for Pittsburgh, they’d better hope Roman Wilson has a great sophomore year. As of now, they’ve somehow traded for DK Metcalf and are still going into the year with a hole at the position. There is a silver lining, though. Pittsburgh has a wealth of draft capital for the 2026 season. At this point, it feels like they have to move up for a quarterback with all of those picks.
If the Steelers can turn this draft capital into a benefit, the George Pickens trade will be worth it. If not, things could get rough.
