The tenure of wide receiver George Pickens with the Pittsburgh Steelers is officially finished.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported the Steelers agreed to trade Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys. In exchange, the Steelers received a 2026 third-rounder selection and a 2027 fifth-round choice.
This ends a three-year controversial Pickens tenure with the Steelers.
Pittsburgh drafted Pickens at No. 52 overall in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He only made five catches in his first three games. However, Pickens made a name for himself with a one-handed catch in Week 3 of his rookie season on Thursday Night Football.
The following week, which was fellow 2022 draft pick Kenny Pickett’s debut, Pickens posted his first 100-yard receiving game.
In three seasons with Pittsburgh, Pickens posted 174 catches for 2,841 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. He averaged 16.3 yards per reception and led the NFL in the category with 18.1 yards per catch during 2023.
Steelers Trade WR George Pickens to Dallas Cowboys
Pickens’ time with the Steelers was filled with highlight-reel plays and controversial moments. Over his three NFL seasons in Pittsburgh, Pickens was a polarizing figure both on and off the field.
In December 2023, the receiver caused waves in the media when he suggested he didn’t block downfield on a Steelers running play so he could avoid injury. Last year, Pickens gained a reputation as an often-penalized player.
Over three seasons with the Steelers, Pickens earned three offensive pass interference penalties and six other fouls that warranted a 15-yard flag. The 24-year-old received two 15-yard penalties in the first matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals last year.
After the 2024 Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Pickens caused another stir in the media when he congratulated Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce during a postgame interview with Netflix.
A few days after the game, Pickens engaged in a contentious interview with Steelers Now’s Alan Saunders in which they debated over quarterback Russell Wilson’s word choice.
Saunders paraphrased Wilson when he told Pickens the quarterback said the two weren’t on the same page on a play that resulted in an interception against the Chiefs. The word choice sit well with Pickens, and he made Saunders aware of that.
Despite all of the controversy, though, Pickens was Pittsburgh’s top receiver the past two seasons. He assumed that role in 2023 with Diontae Johnson injured early in the season. During 2023, Pickens posted 63 catches for 1,140 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Last season, Pickens had 59 receptions and 900 receiving yards with three scores. Pickens experienced the statistical setback in 2024 in part because he missed three games because of a hamstring injury.
Yet, he still had 352 more receiving yards than any other Steelers wideout.
Why Steelers Traded Pickens
Pittsburgh moving on from Pickens wasn’t shocking. There were rumblings in the media for weeks prior to the trade that Pickens could not play 2025 with the Steelers.
Still, the trade was surprising for a couple reasons. First, the timing of it. Trading Pickens during the 2025 NFL Draft would have made more sense because then the Steelers would have had an opportunity to draft his replacement with the compensation they received in return.
Because the Steelers traded Pickens after the NFL Draft, they won’t reap the benefits of the trade until next year.
Secondly, the Steelers also didn’t draft a receiver with the 2025 picks they already had. Yes, general manager Omar Khan acquired D.K. Metcalf for the team’s 2025 second-round pick. But the Steelers had been trying to trade for a veteran receiver for more than a year.
Metcalf will replace Pickens in Pittsburgh’s offense. That’s the good news. But the bad news is the Steelers, once again, only have one capable outside receiver.
The Steelers may end up using the extra 2026 draft capital to trade up for a quarterback in next year’s draft. But for 2025, Khan may need to make another move to pair Metcalf with a more capable outside threat.
