Proposed George Pickens trade suddenly makes prospect of losing star WR less fearsome for Cowboys
Losing George Pickens would suck for the Cowboys. But this trade would make the scenario more manageable.
With Super Bowl LX in the rearview mirror, George Pickens and the Dallas Cowboys are taking center stage in the NFL news cycle.
Once again, the Cowboys’ pending negotiations with a star player are expected to be one of the most discussed situations of the offseason, and this time, for good reason. It’s just tough to predict what will happen between the Cowboys and Pickens, as signing him to a long-term deal would require Dallas to have two of the highest-paid receivers in the league.
With uncertainty will come all kinds of speculation, including trade scenarios. Former Super Bowl champion Jason McCourty is already going at it. The former New England Patriots safety proposed a Pickens trade on ESPN that quite frankly would make a Pickens departure less fearsome for Dallas.
George Pickens for Maxx Crosby?
In a segment from ESPN’s Get Up show on Wednesday, McCourty proposed a player-for-player trade between the Cowboys and the Las Vegas Raiders. If it were to happen, it would involve two of the biggest names in the NFL.
“If you’re gonna ask me to play ‘Madden’ with no consequences, I’m going for the jugular,” McCourty said on live TV. “If I’m the Raiders, why not go out and trade Maxx Crosby? And for the Dallas Cowboys, you franchise tag George Pickens. You don’t work out a long-term deal. You trade him to the Raiders for Crosby in exchange. And for the Raiders, you get a weapon in George Pickens for Fernando Mendoza.”
There’s a lot to unpack here. First of all, McCourty is admittedly proposing a bold—and unlikely—trade. The whole segment was based on coming up with Madden-style trades.
But there is some sense to it. Losing Pickens would sting for the Cowboys after having a Top 5 scoring offense. And frankly, an elite offense is the Cowboys’ shortest path to being a legit Super Bowl contender.
However, Pickens’ demands will be high and if a deal can’t be struck between the Cowboys and Pickens’ agent, David Mulugheta, landing Crosby in return wouldn’t hurt. It’s no secret Dallas missed the pass rush a star like Crosby—who is rumored to be a trade candidate for the Raiders—can provide after dealing Micah Parsons away.
Financials make the scenario attractive
Acquiring Crosby without sacrificing any of their two first-round draft picks could be a major win for Dallas. The hidden value of the deal would lie in the financials, as Crosby is under contract through 2029. Though he’s currently in the books for $35.79 million in 2026, a contract restructure could drop that number by over $20 million, per Over the Cap.
Meanwhile, Pickens would cost the Raiders Crosby and a long-term deal. If Jerry Jones sold fans on Kenny Clark as an immediate upgrade following the Parsons trade, there’s no question he can sell Cowboys Nation on Crosby even if it means losing Pickens.
Bottom line
Though getting a proven star like Crosby instead of draft picks feels like a win for the Cowboys in this hypothetical scenario, I wouldn’t pull the trigger on it if I was the GM in Dallas.
As I alluded to earlier, the Cowboys have an elite offense with Pickens on board and the way Dak Prescott is playing. Though he’s an elite pass rusher, Crosby won’t fix all your defensive struggles, and I’d rather bet on the offense if the intention is to “win now.” That isn’t to say the Cowboys don’t need to improve their defense for their offensive firepower to count, but I don’t see the point in directly harming the offense to do so.
And yet, if negotiations don’t go smoothly, trading Pickens for Crosby wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world, so I see where McCourty’s Madden-esque trade idea is coming from.