Once his third Steelers campaign came to an end, it was decided George Pickens would not continue his career in Pittsburgh. A trade was ultimately worked out which allowed the Cowboys to add him to their receiving corps. 
Pickens has one year remaining on his rookie deal, so an extension would have been possible upon arrival. Instead, the 24-year-old’s attention is focused on playing out his contract year, meaning this could prove to be a one-year rental for Dallas. Pickens’ first impressions with the Cowboys have been positive, though.
“Oh yeah, most definitely,” the former second-rounder said (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) when asked if would be open to remaining in Dallas beyond the coming season. “Because I’ve watched the team for so long, and the camaraderie. I kind of understand the camaraderie more than I did in Pittsburgh… I think I definitely understand it more here, the people more here than I did [with the Steelers].”
Off-field issues such as character and punctuality were talking points during Pickens’ time in Pittsburgh. Head coach Mike Tomlin went as far as publicly noting the Georgia product needed to “grow up,” making it little surprise a parting of ways was deemed beneficial for all involved. Pickens striking an optimistic tone with respect to his acclimation with his new team only means so much before the regular season has even started, of course, but it is at least a positive start to his Dallas tenure.
The Cowboys have CeeDee Lamb attached to a $34MM-per-year pact through the 2028 season. He will be counted on to continue operating as the team’s No. 1 receiver this year and for many more after that, but intrigue exists with Pickens in the fold as the second member of what could be a strong tandem. Averaging 16.3 yards per reception across his three Steelers campaigns, Pickens established himself as one of the league’s best vertical threats. Another productive season this year will set him up well in free agency.
A second contract will be lucrative regardless of where it comes from if Pickens can deliver on expectations in 2025. At this point, at least, the door is open to his next pact allowing him to stay in place with the Cowboys.
Dumping on a historic franchise, cool
I must’ve missed the part where he dumped on the Steelers.
B tier player C tier results F tier attitude.
Perfect for Dallas!
Only 19 receivers have more receiving yards since he entered the league, even though he’s never had a good quarterback situation. I’m not a big Pickens fan, but he hasn’t had C tier results.
900 yards and 3 TDs yet wants he’s gonna want paid 30M/Y? Yeah no thanks. He’s also not even in the top 50 in touchdowns since he’s been in the league. We both can pick a stat to show how C tier he is lol.
He’s tied for 46th in touchdowns since he entered the league and nine of the guys ahead of him aren’t receivers.
$30 million a year, a number you mentioned and no one else did in connection with Pickens, would make him paid in the A tier. I’m not saying he’s A tier.
The Steelers have been bottom five in pass attempts the last two years and have had bad quarterback situations Pickens’ whole time in the NFL. He’s been at least a productive number two receiver caliber player.
Lol 46th in TD is good to you? His comp on Spotrac, which his strictly for sports contracts, has him in the DK range, or $33M. So yes, the people who do this for a living indeed have him in that range.
A #2 isn’t worth $30M. So thank you for not only clarifying but agreeing…
He’s tied for 37th among wide receivers since entering the league. So even the stat you cherry picked to make him look bad was 1) Incorrect and 2) Not that bad. And again, that’s despite playing in a low volume passing attack with bad quarterbacks.
You said “he’s gonna want paid 30M/Y?” Pickens has indicated no such thing and he just got traded for not that much. I don’t care what Spotrac’s comp says right now. He would have to put up a big year without drama to land a deal like that. Metcalf had better numbers and a better reputation before getting paid.
And that’s all off track from the C tier results claim, which is just wrong.
I never said ‘among wide receivers’ so that’s irrelevant. I said top 50, and 46th overall is preeeeeeetty dang close, but I’ll give it to you I was 4 slots off..
There’s been plenty of indications Pickens wants paid $30M +. You think Pickens just thinks he’s the 5th best in the league? That arrogant d-bag thinks he’s the best (he’s not even sniffing top 32 in the league). Why do you think he was traded for so little? Other than the ridiculous attitude he has, HE NEEDS A CONTRACT…..
You’re right, Spotrac’s comp doesn’t matter because next year when the next crop of guys are paid he’s going to expect even more!
So wait, doesn’t have C tier results yet he has to put up a bigger year to be paid?? That SCREAMS C tier results… You admit it yet say it’s wrong..?
That’s full blown word salad right there.
Typical answer
Oooof- I commend you for trying to reason with this person who clearly isn’t absorbing the things you are saying, instead making emotional, knee-jerk reactions to actual facts you present, without taking the time to understand what you’re actually saying. You must have children with that kind of patience lol.
Peanut gallery I brought my cherry picked statistics too..
Also I have twins my patience is through the roof. Probably shouldn’t judge someone off their opinion if Pickens is a C tier talent or a B tier talent lol
No badtakesonly, it takes a certain amount of intellectual dishonesty to claim Pickens has had C tier results. Pointing to his 900 yards last year without acknowledging he didn’t play a full year (14 G, 12 GS) is intentionally misleading. For a full year that would equate to 1,100 yards, perhaps more. His yards per catch over his three year career leads the league. And as ooof pointed out, he has had five different QBs in those three years, with four of them being quite poor.
Pickens is primed to go off this year.
Primed to go off? Yeah, he’s definitely primed to cry about his targets, pay, and lack of a good QB. Everyone’s acting like going from Russ/Fields to Dak is some kind of upgrade? It’s not. Same cow different jersey. His catch % is dropping year after year as his attitude grows. He’s an unwilling blocker, even though it’s probably the best part of his game. He has an atrocious route tree like absolutely pitiful there’s high school kids in my area who blow him out of the water when it comes to running a crisp route. Once he’s not the guy being targeted at a 25% rate he’s useless. And he’s not going to be targeted at that rate. He’s a product of no one else being an option in PGH, not being an actual top tier threat. I watched him week in and week out his whole career. The intellectual dishonesty is to the people telling themselves he’s ‘primed to go off’ like the rest of the headcase WRs PGH has sent out. Brown, Bryant, Johnson, now Pickens will be lead down the road of uselessness and bad behavior.
Money talks, BS walks and apparently you walk quite a bit. Money talks as in Russell Wilson, as great as you say he is, signed a one year $10.5MM contract with the NYG this year. Justin Fields signed a two year contract with an AAV of $20MM. With as many teams that are QB starved, that is how little they were worth. Prescott is a clear upgrade over those two, not to mention the other greats he had throwing to him: Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph.
Your stats failed you, so now you’re reduced to talking about how his route running compares to HS players. I’d say quit before you embarrass yourself, but that ship has sailed.
Please show me where I said Wilson was great. I’d love to see me say that. Or, like usual the reading comprehension is so bad. My stats didn’t fail me he’s barely top 50 in TDs since he’s been in the league. Allergic to the end zone. Allergic to playing hard. Allergic to being a teammate. There’s not quit in my vocabulary little one, but keep trying
I can’t wait for the meltdown after Pickens has a 2 week stretch with 2 catches for 14 yards on 5 targets.
Don’t count on it…
Of course, he’s open to resigning. His paycheck will be larger without a state income tax (that 3% difference from PA adds up when you’re making millions).
In a totally unrelated story- The 2026 Cowboys will have a new coaching staff and a major push to clean up the locker room culture.
And people in H E double hockey sticks are gonna get ice water. The Dallas organization is impossible to clean up
Well, Pickens is young and talented, and the Cowboys spent a pick to acquire him. You would hope that the team saw this as more than a one year rental. If Pickens works out, then they’ve gotten a top level number two receiver to give them a duo that could last a while. We don’t have many legitimately long term duos in the NFL right now (Cincy is the first that comes to mind); most teams have a one and then a rotating list of twos or take a platoon approach. Dallas could lock in a more permanent complement of talent, but all this comes with the expectation that Pickens does work out and step up to what he should be able to do with his talent.
The Steelers had offensive issues because of their quarterback situation and possibly their coordinator situation-if Dak’s presence as entrenched QB1 and Lamb as an entrenched WR1 can help, Pickens may not have so many tantrums about offensive direction. If not, we’ll, this investment probably won’t look so good after 17 games. We’ll have to see, as all of this depends heavily on Pickens’ maturity. If all plays out as it should, then Dallas should absolutely be interested in a re-signing.
Remember the Amri Cooper and CeeDee duo!
Mrb correct. They averaged 2,000 yards per season in CD’s first two seasons.