While other storylines have taken over most of the Steelers’ offseason, the team made waves last week while sending George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Pickens has been the only real playmaker on the offensive side of the ball in recent years. However, the addition of DK Metcalf, and the fact that Pickens was going into the final year of his contract, made him more expandable.
The Steelers were able to get a third-round pick in return for Pickens. Steelers insider Mark Kaboly thinks they are lucky to get that.
“You had to move him [George Pickens], now nobody’s interested in him,” Kaboly said, via 93.7 The Fan on Monday. “Very few guys are interested in him. So, you have to feel very fortunate with all the facts you know, that they even got a third [round pick], knowing everything. They were trying to get rid of him, his history in Georgia, his history here, and the players not really enjoying it anymore, or being around him. You’re lucky to get a third.”
Understanding how the trade went down, it’s hard to disagree with Kaboly here. It feels pretty clear that there wasn’t a large market for Pickens, to say the least.
Pickens was a talented prospect coming out of the draft. Teams did their homework on him, and he ended up falling to the second round due to some character concerns. That would show that most teams didn’t have the highest opinion of him. Just three years removed from that, with more than a few problematic instances in Pittsburgh, it’s easy to see why some of those teams hadn’t changed their minds.
Some of the concerns were becoming real issues in Pittsburgh, according to Kaboly. In a post on X on Monday, Kaboly reported that some players were ‘fed up’ with Pickens. He also mentioned that things were “ugly” behind the scenes. That’s just a situation you can’t have in your locker room, and if that truly was the case, it makes sense that the Steelers seemed fine getting rid of him.
Other teams knew that, too. It seems the Cowboys’ offer last week was the first time a team was willing to offer a third-rounder. Dallas reportedly upped their offer after the draft, when they originally offered a fourth-round pick.
The Steelers are loading up on draft capital for 2026. They originally only had six picks in 2025, and the timing of this trade sure makes it feel like the Cowboys were the only team with any interest.
On talent alone, the argument can be made that the Steelers got fleeced. Given the whole context of the situation, maybe the Steelers are lucky to have a third-round pick in return.
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