The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys pulled off a blockbuster trade involving wide receiver George Pickens this week, which is a great addition for Dallas but comes with some risk.
The biggest risk has to do with Pickens' volatile behavior. On top of getting into fights on the field, Pickens has shown up for work late on multiple occasions and seemingly has a toxic attitude when things don't go his way. As a result, there's the potential for this situation to go badly in Dallas.
Before the trade went down, The Athletic's Jeff Howe polled teams for their take on a possible trade for Pickens during the draft, and the reaction was not positive.
Howe says teams "laughed at" the idea of trading for the wide receiver because of the negative impact he could have on a locker room. He adds that there didn't seem to be much interest for a Pickens trade among other teams, and especially not for the kind of draft capital Dallas ultimately gave up for him.
"Word leaked during the draft that Pickens was available if anyone wanted him. Some teams polled by The Athletic at the time laughed at the idea of inviting Pickens into their locker room for any price, let alone a second-day draft pick," Howe wrote. "There wasn’t a lot of interest in talking with the Steelers about a trade."
Like many receivers, Pickens is unhappy when he doesn't get a lot of targets. That situation has the potential to arise in Dallas, where he'll be the No. 2 option in the wide receivers room behind CeeDee Lamb, who already has a great rapport with quarterback Dak Prescott.
"Schematically, you can't double everybody. It'll be good for me and him," Pickens said of playing alongside Lamb during his introductory press conference. "I'm just here to work. Whatever role finds me is where I'll find myself."
Pickens also touched on the negative view of him around the league and noted that he continues to grow as he gets older.
"I can't change anyone's opinion. Me, personally, I just continue to grow. Everyone in the world has to grow as you get older and older," he explained. "I'm just trying to build a winning culture, which they already have at the Cowboys."
Another risk with trading for Pickens is that he's set to be a free agent in 2025. The Cowboys reportedly don't plan on extending Pickens this offseason, and that's just fine with the former second-round pick.
"I'm kind of where my feet are right now, to be honest," he said. "I'm not thinking about contract talk. I'm glad to be here with the Cowboys and trying to build a winning culture."
Pickens is saying all the right things upon his arrival in Dallas, but history suggests that might not last if things go south for him and the Cowboys in 2025.
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