The Dallas Cowboys have certainly not been getting the breakout production from star receiver George Pickens this season that they’d expected, and he has not gotten the kind of headlines he’d hoped for heading into a free-agent winter. Pickens was said to have the best and most focused training camp of any player this summer, but through six games, he has not had the same level of impact he did in 2025. True, he is still on pace to top 1,200 yards receiving with 93 catches, but coach Brian Schottenheimer and various Cowboys observers have spent much time wringing their hands about Pickens and whether he is getting the ball enough.
And maybe, in the end, the best move for the 2-4 Cowboys would be to send Pickens elsewhere, as it has become more likely that the team will let him walk in free agency next winter, and it might well be time to start working Ryan Flournoy into a WR2 role while recouping a draft pick for Pickens.
Cowboys More Likely to Pay Joey Porter Than George Pickens
That’s the thought, at least, from ESPN’s Brett Solak, in his weekly “I think I think …” column. Solak wrote that he only might think this is true, but he sees Pickens as a trade candidate when the NFL deadline comes around in three weeks.
And he could see the Rams, desperate to replace star Davante Adams, willing to cough up assets to get Pickens.
Writes Solak: “I might think … George Pickens is a trade candidate. His effort level and focus seem to be waning again, and the Cowboys will struggle to pay Pickens and cornerback Joey Porter Jr., whom they recently traded for. If the 2-4 Cowboys keep losing games, I’d call about Pickens on the franchise tag for the remainder of the season — we know he has game-breaking ability when he’s dialed in. Imagine Pickens in Los Angeles to help replace Davante Adams …”
The Rams have already traded away their first- and third-round picks in 2027, but perhaps a second-rounder would be enough to get the Cowboys to the table on a Pickens deal.
Cowboys Could Trade George Pickens to Replace Future HOFer