George Pickens Trade Rumor Confirms Cowboys' Stance on Dealing Star WR at Deadline

With the Dallas Cowboys on the fast track to nowhere at 3-5 this season, there has been increasing buzz about the team possibly trading George Pickens.

However, if you're one of the people in the trade Pickens camp, or if you're here because you want your team to trade for Pickens, don't get your hopes up for anything to happen.

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Nick Harris, there is no interest on the Cowboys' part in trading Pickens before the Nov. 10 deadline on Tuesday.

"The fifth-year pass-catcher and second-year Cowboy is playing this season on the franchise tag after the team elected not to discuss a long-term contract with him in the offseason. Despite trade rhetoric around the time of that decision being announced, the Cowboys never engaged in trying to send him away. Seven months later, that strategy remains the same ahead of the deadline, according to multiple sources," Harris wrote.

This isn't the first report we've seen about the Cowboys' lack of interest in a Pickens trade, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said there's simply "nothing there" with a Pickens trade.

"As of right now there's nothing there," Rapoportsaid of a Pickens trade on The Pat McAfee Show .

Perhaps things will change if the Cowboys drop yet another game to the lowly Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, but we wouldn't even bet on that being enough.

Why Cowboys should trade George Pickens

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens. — Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) runs with the ball during the game between the Cardinals and the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Let's be real here: Dallas isn't going anywhere in 2026 with the awful defense it has and there is nothing to be gained by the Cowboys keeping Pickens.

We still don't envision a scenario in which the Cowboys extend the mercurial wide receiver, as they cannot afford to have two big wide receiver contracts on the books, something even Stephen Jones has said will be difficult to do.

"The situation we have with George Pickens going alongside CeeDee... I don't know of any teams that really can pay two top receivers top of the market," Jones said. "So, yeah. That's going to be a real difficult situation as we move forward. We've managed to figure out how we can do it for this year."

When we say "cannot afford," we don't mean strictly from a cap space standpoint because the Cowboys can make it work. But having two big wide receiver contracts on the books will be a major hinderance to Dallas being able to improve its roster elsewhere.

What's fair value?

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones walks the field during warms ups prior to a game against the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The most the Cowboys are going to get for Pickens is a second-round pick, but we're doubtful they can get that much, especially because of his contract situation. More realistically, a third-rounder is probably the most Dallas will get.

If a team comes through with a third-round pick, which is the best the Cowboys can hope for in a compensatory pick if the team allows Pickens to walk in free agency, they should take it.

If there's a team willing to offer more, the Cowboys shouldn't think twice about trading the star wideout.

There's also a scenario in which Dallas could dangle Pickens in a trade for an impact defender, like an edge rusher, for example. If that opportunity presents itself, the Cowboys should spring, especially if minimal or no draft compensation is required.

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