George Pickens wasn't the only wide receiver trade the Dallas Cowboys pursued this offseason.
He wasn't even the only guy they wanted from the AFC North.
Ravens WR Rashod Bateman confirmed this week that the Cowboys had attempted to make a trade for him in May.
Bateman called the deal "a possibility," but then he and Baltimore reached a three-year contract extension and the talks were off.
“That’s the first thing I told (GM Eric DeCosta): I don’t want to go anywhere else. ‘I know you’ve got a lot of stuff to work through and we’ll figure it out when we figure it out,’” Bateman told The Athletic. “It took time, but it takes time with a lot of people’s contracts. He had a lot of contracts to get done, and maybe more to get done in the future. To be a priority for him in that way is important. He shows he values me.”
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It's not clear how much exactly Dallas was willing to give up for Bateman relative to what they ended up trading for Pickens, or even if the talks were happening simultaneously or one after the other.
The Cowboys still wound up with a bonafide WR2 to pair with CeeDee Lamb, so they're probably happy.
And the Ravens kept one of their top-two wide receivers alongside Zay Flowers, so Lamar Jackson and company should be happy, too.
All's well that ends well.
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