Important clarity emerges on George Pickens following WR trade to the Dallas Cowboys thanks to NFL insider
By trading for wide receiver George Pickens, it's clear the Dallas Cowboys are taking a risk. One that will either result in them landing a top-tier WR2 that could be the No. 1 on most offenses around the NFL or in locker room trouble.After all, it's no secret Pickens has a maturity issue. According to […]
By trading for wide receiver George Pickens, it's clear the Dallas Cowboys are taking a risk. One that will either result in them landing a top-tier WR2 that could be the No. 1 on most offenses around the NFL or in locker room trouble.
After all, it's no secret Pickens has a maturity issue. According to multiple reports, tardiness to meetings and even holding up team flights has been an issue throughout his career, as well as antagonizing players. Recently, reports emerged on some teams laughing off the idea of trading for him.
However, that could be translating into a misunderstanding for the newest Cowboys playmaker and that is the notion that he isn't well-liked in the locker room. According to a top NFL insider, that isn't the case.
"I know this sounds like I'm buttering up to the player and I get a lot of that when I say this but he wasn't a disliked player in that Steelers building," ESPN's Peter Schrager said on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday. "He was late for certain things and there were issues on gameday with him getting frustrated with the quarterback by wanting the ball. But to a man, everyone in Pittsburgh was like 'he shows up, he works hard, he blocks his ass off, and he can still play."
It's two very different things to have a short fuse and a proneness to want to throw hands on the field and a whole different one to be disliked in the locker room. Though neither is ideal, the latter can really break down a team. Fortunately for the Cowboys, that doesn't seem to be the case for Pickens.
"The Steelers loved the idea of George Pickens," says Rob Gregson from A to Z Sports Pittsburgh. "Pittsburgh wanted him for 2025 until he made it clear he wanted a new deal via unfollowing the Steelers on social media and subtle cryptic messaging. If he’s not a headache, they pay him. There is no denying his talent.
"The idea that Pittsburgh won’t pay two WRs is false. The team is slowly but surely getting into modern NFL dynamics. Mike Tomlin was the one who backed Pickens. The two had a strong relationship but he realized that after three years of no improvement despite challenging him to 'grow up' he signed off on the trade."
The Steelers and the Cowboys are looking at very different contexts going into 2025. With Mason Rudolph currently in line to start in September, Pittsburgh is likelier to look into the near future as a rebuild than Dallas is. Keep in mind, the Cowboys aren't looking to extend Pickens before the season so acquiring him as a one-year rental is a strong sign they believe they can be a winning team this season.
Based on Schrager's insight, his arrival isn't as big of a threat to locker room integrity as some are making it out to be. A headache? Sure. A potential personal foul risk? Probably. But a darn great WR2? You betcha.
