The Dallas Cowboys acquired wide receiver George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers in a trade Wednesday morning, the Cowboys confirmed.
As part of the deal, the Cowboys will also receive a 2026 sixth-round pick from the Steelers. Pittsburgh will receive a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick from Dallas in the trade.
Pickens, 24, is entering the final year of his rookie contract, having functioned as the WR1 in Pittsburgh following the trade of Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers last offseason. Pickens tallied 900 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 103 targets over 14 games in 2024, struggling as he has through most of his young career with inconsistent quarterback play.
Pickens posted his best campaign to date in 2023, when he totaled 1,140 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 106 targets, leading the NFL averaging 18.1 yards per reception.
Over his three seasons, Pickens has caught passes from Kenny Pickett, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph as Pittsburgh has struggled to find an answer at quarterback following Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement after the 2021 season.
The Steelers have three quarterbacks on the roster coming out of the draft, including Rudolph, career backup Skylar Thompson and rookie Will Howard, who was selected in the sixth round of this year’s draft. The Steelers have been hoping to sign 41-year-old veteran Aaron Rodgers, who visited the facility and met with head coach Mike Tomlin back in March, though no contract has been signed to date.
Now, Pickens puts those question marks behind him and is set to play with three-time Pro Bowler and 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winner Dak Prescott. Prescott is coming off a season-ending hamstring injury but threw for 4,516 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions in his last full season played. Prescott shared a positive update on his recovery in April, stating, “If I had to play a game today, I definitely could do that.”