Steelers trade WR George Pickens to Cowboys for draft picks

The Pittsburgh Steelers are done waiting for wide receiver George Pickens to correct his maturity issues.

The Steelers traded Pickens, their mercurial fourth-year wide receiver, to the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, completing a deal that had been discussed two weeks ago during the NFL Draft.

The Steelers will receive the Cowboys’ third-round pick in the 2026 draft. The two teams also exchanged late-round picks in 2027, with the Steelers getting Dallas’ fifth-round pick while giving up a sixth-round selection.

ESPN initially reported the trade, which the Cowboys announced on X.

⚠️ TRADE ALERT ⚠️

We’ve agreed to terms to acquire WR George Pickens and a 2027 6th-round pick from the Steelers in exchange for a 2026 3rd-round pick and a 2027 5th-round pick.

????: https://t.co/6bwTbmwTSW | @blockchain pic.twitter.com/m3C0JcyzxX

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) May 7, 2025

Pickens is entering the final year of his contract and is coming off a season in which he was fined several times for unsportsmanlike conduct and was late for the team’s Christmas game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

After Pickens was flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct in a December game at Cincinnati, coach Mike Tomlin said, “he’s just got to grow up, man.” A week earlier, Pickens scuffled with Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the game.

Earlier in the season, Pickens was fined for writing an expletive on his eye black during a game against Dallas. In 2023, Pickens was criticized for not blocking on a Jaylen Warren run near the goal line in a game at Indianapolis. Pickens said he did not block on the play because he feared an injury.

“Certainly there’s a lot of room for growth there,” Tomlin said after the season. “I think he covered some ground in 2024, but there’s certainly a heck of a lot more ground to be covered, and we’ll see where it leads us.”

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The Steelers traded for veteran wide receiver DK Metcalf in March and rewarded him with a five-year, $150 million contract. General manager Omar Khan and Tomlin each said the goal was to pair Metcalf with Pickens, but the Steelers had a change of heart and will stockpile capital for 2026 when the NFL Draft is held in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers did not use any of their draft picks on a receiver. Last week, they signed veteran Robert Woods to a one-year, $2 million contract. The Steelers also have fourth-year receiver Calvin Austin III on the roster, along with Scotty Miller, Ben Skowronek and Roman Wilson.

Pickens had 59 receptions for 900 yards in 14 games last season, and he totaled 174 catches for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns in three seasons with the Steelers. He was the team’s second-round pick in the 2022 draft out of Georgia.

The Cowboys plan to pair Pickens with veteran receiver CeeDee Lamb, who signed a four-year, $136 million deal with Dallas in August. Pickens could have his contract extended by his new team. The Steelers had no plans of extending Pickens before they explored trade options.