The Dallas Cowboys are starting what seems like a downward slide — they’re 2-4 after 6 games, and after looking lost on defense early in the season, they’re now looking lost on offense, too.
That might make the Cowboys sellers ahead of the NFL trade deadline, and if they’re parsing their assets, their most valuable one could be NFL All-Pro wide receiver George Pickens.
ESPN’s Ben Solak thinks that if the Cowboys want to trade Pickens, who is on a 1-year, $27.2 million franchise tag, the team that would give up the most in return might be the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs.
“I might think … George Pickens is a trade candidate,” Solak wrote on October 20. “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 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 Kansas City as Mahomes’ new downfield target? Exciting stuff.”
Pickens Called Out for Lack of Effort in Loss
Pickens had 6 receptions for 73 yards in a 23-13 Week 6 loss to the Green Bay Packers and has 33 receptions for 428 yards and 1 touchdown on 52 targets through the first six games.
Against the Packers, some old issues with Pickens seemed to resurface — mostly centered on his effort, or lack thereof.
“I don’t know who was less interested in the (Cowboys-Packers) game tonight other than me, but George Pickens was up there,” The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said on Sunday night. “Pickens thinks the franchise tag means that he’s playing tag football, not actual football.”
George Pickens Blasted for Lack of Effort in 2025
In a Week 14 loss to the Detroit Lions in 2025, Pickens caught 5 passes for 37 yards on 9 targets and picked up two costly penalties: illegal hands to the face and offensive pass interference.
His lack of effort earned a stinging rebuke from former NFL cornerback and Super Bowl champion Richard Sherman afterward.
“George Pickens seemed uninterested in playing football tonight,” Sherman said on the NFL on Prime postgame broadcast. “He seemed completely disengaged; he disappeared and half-assed it. Totally unacceptable.”
“It’s just lackadaisical play and you cannot have an off and on switch,” former NFL wide receiver and ESPN analyst Harry Douglas said. “Every time you take the field you have to say you’re gonna dominate the man across from me. Everything you have to do has to be full speed.”
It was the same criticism Pickens got hit with after a Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025.
“Not enough effort, not enough commitment to the team,” former NFL offensive lineman and 3-time Pro Bowler Taylor Lewan said on ESPN’s “Get Up” in September 2025. “(The Cowboys) need more from you when the ball’s not coming your way. There needs to be a full package of commitment from George Pickens … you’re a massively talented young man but we can’t have you jogging in run concepts. You’ve gotta be all in. I need to watch that tape and know you’re fully committed on every snap.”
Cowboys Trade Pitch Sends WR George Pickens to Unbeaten AFC Team