For most, the Dallas Cowboys trading for Pittsburgh Steelers receiver George Pickens was the sort of move the franchise had to make.
But the details of the deal, for some, make it a risky move for the Cowboys.
In getting George, Dallas gave up a 2026 third-round selection and a 2027 fifth-rounder. For a No. 1 receiver, who only has a $3.6 million salary for 2025, that seems good, right?
Plus, the Cowboys, if they choose not to sign Pickens at the end of next season, will get a compensation pick next offseason. So it's a win-win for Dallas.
Except SI's Matt Verderame, in his Good, Bad, and Ugly piece, has put everything about the Pickens trade in the ugly basket.
"In theory, the Dallas Cowboys are the winners here," Verderame writes. "They acquired a star receiver on his rookie deal for a third-round pick from the Steelers.
"If the Cowboys don’t like their experience with Pickens, they could let him walk and hope to recoup the third-rounder by getting a compensatory pick for the 2027 draft. That said, it’s a risky maneuver, as a signing could cancel out the loss in the compensatory formula."
So it's all ugly, yet Dallas, in theory, is a winner? Hmm, OK.
We look at the trade like this.
If Pickens is the player many think he is and helps fire the Cowboys back to the playoffs, and possibly more, then great, the move was a success. Of course, that will mean he plays well and receives a new contract next offseason, which likely won't be from the Cowboys (it's possible, but unlikely).
That's fine. Dallas then gets its comp pick, and is good to go for the offseason, without any financial repercussions. (And to think the Cowboys will botch the comp pick formula is naive; they've mastered that thing to the point of overemphasis.)
To us, that is a win-win for the franchise.
Yes, it's a dart throw if you will, but the upside to this deal makes it worth it.
And that doesn't equate to an "ugly" move.
