The Dallas Cowboys entered Week 8 hoping to climb back into the NFC East race, and they left with one of the most stunning losses in franchise history.
Dallas led the Arizona Cardinals 17-3 with a little more than a quarter left, only to lose 33-30 in overtime on Sunday. It was the first time the Cowboys ever lost a home game after leading by at least 14 points in the fourth quarter (they had been 202-0-1 previously).
Now 3-5, the Cowboys are at a crossroads with the Nov. 10 trade deadline a week away.
However, executive vice president Stephen Jones isn’t waving the white flag. Jones said on 105.3 The Fan this week that Dallas is open to adding a player to salvage the season, which is why ESPN’s Ben Solak believes the Cowboys are making a big mistake.
Solak called it “about as short-sighted an approach as can be” — and thinks the smarter move is actually trading wide receiver George Pickens away.
Trading Pickens May Be Cowboys’ Only Option
If Dallas were to trade away Pickens, it wouldn’t just be about money.
Pickens ran a route on just 51.4% of the Cowboys’ dropbacks against Arizona — his lowest rate since arriving in Dallas, according to Solak. Jones pointed to nagging health issues, but Solak believes Pickens may simply want out.
The 25-year-old wideout finished Sunday’s loss with two catches on four targets and has just 10 targets over the past two games. He also jogged down the tunnel before most of his teammates had left the field, which many believe was his way of voicing his frustration with his role.
“I can’t figure out how it makes sense for the Cowboys to keep Pickens on their roster in 2027,” Solak wrote. “The money doesn’t add up from a cap-management perspective, nor does the on-field opportunity and impact at that contract rate. And if the Cowboys’ ownership doesn’t see this, perhaps Pickens will.”
Pickens is just a year removed from his career-best 93-catch, 1,429-yard season that earned him second-team All-Pro honors. Through eight games, he has 39 catches for 533 yards and two touchdowns, and he’s not the Robin to CeeDee Lamb’s Batman that many thought he would be.
Why the Cowboys Should Cash in on Pickens
Pickens is playing on the one-year franchise tag ($27.3 million), and a second tag next offseason would cost Dallas about $32.8 million.
That’s a problem. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is also playing without an extension and wants upward of $30 million per year — and the Cowboys only get one tag.
An extension won’t be cheap either. Solak estimates Pickens would command north of $33 million per year, worryingly close to the $34 million CeeDee Lamb makes.
That’s why Solak thinks Dallas should sell high with so many teams needing WR help right now like the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Commanders, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Los Angeles Rams.
“Some things are so painfully obvious that I have to ignore the public PR and read between the lines,” Solak stated. “If Pickens and Dallas have no long-term future, why wait for the compensatory draft pick in 2028? Why go through all the necessary rigamarole to preserve that comp pick when they can get a guaranteed third-round pick in a trade now — and likely more! The Chiefs would do it.”
Trading Pickens Would Help Build for the Future
The Cowboys are also low on draft capital, which makes moving Pickens an even more attractive option.
Dallas has just 10 picks over the next two drafts — the fewest in the league — after giving up its 2027 third-, fifth- and sixth-round picks in the trades for Broderick Jones, Pickens and Porter. They’re also without a 2028 second-rounder.
If Pickens and the Cowboys have no long-term future, Solak argued, why wait on a 2028 compensatory pick when Dallas could land a “guaranteed” third-rounder now — and likely more? He even named the Chiefs as a team that would make that deal.
Solak even called his shot, boldly predicting the Cowboys would lose to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, prompting a frustrated Pickens to force a trade before next Tuesday’s deadline.
George Pickens Could Force the Cowboys to Trade Him