The information got here quick and livid Wednesday morning, with the Pittsburgh Steelers transport extensive receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys for a third-round choose within the 2026 NFL Draft, and a late-round choose swap within the 2027 NFL Draft.
Simply when it appeared like Pickens was protected to stay with the Steelers to at the very least begin the 2025 season after being held onto by the draft, issues modified within the blink of a watch as GM Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin moved on from the receiver who has been a little bit of a headache at instances in his three seasons in Pittsburgh.
However the transfer does open up a gap in an offense that had supposed to be significantly better this season than it was in 2024. With out Pickens reverse star receiver DK Metcalf, that will probably be troublesome.
Former Steelers offensive lineman Max Starks, who’s presently a sideline reporter for the Steelers Radio Community, had a mixture of feelings following the stories of the Pickens commerce to the Steelers. However in the long run, he understands it from the Steelers’ perspective, particularly with the staff stockpiling picks for the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, the place the Steelers seem poised to swing large for a quarterback.
“Head scratch was the primary preliminary knee-jerk thought. After which I placed on my Steelers cap, which is a really comfortable, comfortable cap, and I then felt aid. I had a mixture of feelings,” Starks mentioned of his response to the commerce, in accordance with audio by way of Sirius XM. “However simply since you undergo the draft course of, proper? And also you don’t take a receiver in that, in case you knew this was impending, and you then get by that entire course of, don’t discover a commerce accomplice actively throughout the draft. After which it simply looks like, man, we’re similar to stockpiling picks for subsequent yr, however subsequent yr isn’t promised about what’s gonna be accessible to you as a result of we dwell within the period of NIL switch portal, you recognize, mysterious fifth and sixth yr eligibilities that come up.
“And so I’m similar to, I used to be a little bit pensive, a little bit nervous concerning the thought of going into the season as soon as once more with just one frontline receiver.”
It’s comprehensible that Starks could really feel that approach. That’s most likely how loads of Steelers followers have been feeling within the moments after seeing the information of the Pickens commerce, contemplating the timing coming after the draft, and the Steelers having no actual No. 2 choice behind Metcalf on the roster, exterior of veteran Robert Woods, who was signed final week in a shock transfer.
The choice to maneuver Pickens now, after the draft, is a bit puzzling. However based mostly on a report from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Cowboys have been solely providing the Steelers a fourth-round choose for Pickens throughout the draft, which the Steelers rightly handed on.
Popping out of the draft, with the Cowboys not choosing a receiver, Dallas’ want grew to become all of the extra better, leading to them providing the third-rounder to finish the deal. That helps the Steelers actually load up for the 2026 NFL Draft.
However that additionally leaves them skinny at receiver. The Steelers are keen to take that threat, although, in 2025, avoiding the complications that Pickens might present in a contract yr whereas additionally being the clear-cut No. 2 behind DK Metcalf on the roster.
“I believe it simply, it grew to become extra of a legal responsibility than an asset,” Starks mentioned relating to Pickens and why the commerce occurred now. “You at all times take a look at, you recognize, does the manufacturing on the sector match the headache off the sector? And I believe it lastly acquired to a degree the place the headache outlived the manufacturing.”
That’s seemingly the place it acquired with the Steelers and Pickens, and it lastly led to one thing drastic: the commerce of Pickens to the Cowboys, permitting the Steelers to get one thing in return for a receiver they have been nearly actually going to let stroll in free company after the season.
It permits them to keep away from any potential blowups and detrimental headlines, whereas giving them the prospect to maintain issues on observe offensively in a yr wherein many new components will probably be labored into the fold on that aspect of the soccer.
