Cowboys’ George Pickens Admits ‘Forcing’ the Steelers to Trade Him This Offseason

George Pickens claimed in a deleted tweet that he forced a trade away from the Steelers and not the other way around.

Cowboys’ George Pickens Admits ‘Forcing’ the Steelers to Trade Him This Offseason

George Pickens (Image via IMAGO)

George Pickens created the persona of the resident bad boy during his three years with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The AFC North franchise failed to polish his attitude and traded him to the Dallas Cowboys for picks instead of allowing him to play his fourth year in Pittsburgh.

There was a lot of chatter regarding Pickens’ behavior on and off the field. The Steelers grew tired of his alleged angry bursts of brash trash-talking.

Pickens was made available for trade around the draft in April. Hardly any team reached out with a trade. According to reports, a few NFL executives even laughed when the Steelers offered them Pickens.

Eventually, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys stepped forward. They traded for Pickens. However, the 24-year-old wide receiver recently tweeted that he forced his way out of the Steelers and not the other way around.

I forced buddy. They were gladly keeping me … have a nice day and a blessed one my guy.

He quickly deleted the comment, but nothing is truly ever deleted from the internet.

Pickens appeared in 48 games for the Steelers. He caught 174 passes for 2841 yards (16.3 yards per catch) and scored 8 touchdowns while receiving from five different quarterbacks.

Quarterback Dak Prescott is excited to play with Pickens.

You put the football anywhere in his vicinity, very strong hands. More than a 50/50 catcher. He thinks it’s his ball when it’s in the air. I’m excited for him. I know we needed some help at that position…It’s hard to double-team two guys…I think we’re putting together a nice group of weapons.

Dak Prescott said

Former Cowboys player sends warning about George Pickens

The Cowboys required another top receiver alongside CeeDee Lamb. After releasing veterans Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks, the Cowboys were left with KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Tolbert.

Cowboys' George Pickens Admits 'Forcing' the Steelers to Trade Him This Offseason
George Pickens (Image via IMAGO)

Trading for Pickens opened a variety of plays that new head coach Brian Schottenheimer could try. Schottenheimer revealed that Pickens’ transition into the Cowboys locker room has been smooth.

However, retired Cowboys player turned football analyst Ross Tucker cautioned that the situation may quickly fall apart.

Listen, I played for the Cowboys; I know that culture. I can almost guarantee a lot of stuff will go wrong. And by the way, not even the number one receiver. So, they’re gonna throw the ball to CeeDee Lamb 75 percent of the time. How is he gonna react to that?

Ross Tucker said via Steeler Nation

Tucker may have hit the nail on the head. Right after joining the Cowboys, Pickens and Lamb attended a charity baseball match where reporters asked who would carry the mantle of the wide receiver one at the Cowboys? They chose a diplomatic answer.

We’re both ones.

Receivers are very headstrong individuals. There are plenty of examples around the league when the receiver witnessed a meltdown for not seeing the ball enough.

On the other hand, there are even examples of pairs of receivers who cast off the WR1 and WR2 stigma for the sake of their teams—AJ Brown–DeVonta Smith and Ja’Marr Chase–Tee Higgins.

Will Lamb and Pickens be able to work together? Only time will tell, and if Pickens leaves a positive impact on the Cowboys’ 2025 season, he may sign a big-money contract the following year.

Also Read: