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The Pittsburgh Steelers have an agreement in place to trade wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for multiple draft picks, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported early Wednesday morning.
The Steelers are expected to receive a future third-round pick and fifth-round pick from Dallas in the deal. Pittsburgh will send a sixth-round pick to the Cowboys along with Pickens.
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. He 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."
The trade has been in the works dating back to the 2025 NFL Draft, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. "Talks stalled, but Dallas came back with an improved effort that eventually lands Pickens from Pittsburgh," she shared on X as the news broke Wednesday morning.
The Steelers acquired star wide receiver DK Metcalf in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this offseason and inked him to a $150 million deal, which sparked some conjecture that Pickens could be on the move.
