ESPN Floats George Pickens Trade From Dallas Cowboys To Chiefs, Rams Before NFL Deadline

FRISCO, Texas — ESPN’s Ben Solak would call the Dallas Cowboys about trading George Pickens if Dallas keeps losing before the Nov. 10 trade deadline, he wrote in his Week 7 column Tuesday.

The Pickens item ran in the “might think” section at the bottom of the column. Solak wrote that Pickens’ effort level and focus seem to be slipping again, and that Dallas will struggle to pay both Pickens and cornerback Joey Porter Jr., whom the Cowboys acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 1. If the 2-4 Cowboys keep losing, Solak wrote, he would ask about Pickens on the tag for the rest of the season because “we know he has game-breaking ability when he’s dialed in.”

Solak floated two landing spots. One was the Los Angeles Rams, where Pickens would help replace Davante Adams. The other was the Kansas City Chiefs, where Pickens would become a new downfield target for Patrick Mahomes.

Solak’s column also cited ESPN’s Football Power Index, which gives Dallas a 66.9% chance to win the NFC East, the best odds in the division. The New York Giants, at 3-2-1, are next at 13.2%.

George Pickens’ Production On The Franchise Tag

Pickens has caught 33 of the 52 passes thrown his way this season for 428 yards and 1 touchdown. He had 68 receiving yards combined in the first two games, a 28-20 loss at the Giants and a 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders. He has reached 73 yards in every game since.

Pickens caught 2 passes for 75 yards in a 34-30 win over the Houston Texans on Oct. 4. One of them went for 53 yards. In the same game, CeeDee Lamb caught 17 of 21 targets for 189 yards and a touchdown.

Four days later, Pickens had 9 catches for 130 yards in a 24-16 Thursday night loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium. His only touchdown of the season, an 18-yard catch, came in the fourth quarter of that game.

At Lambeau Field on Sunday night, Pickens caught 6 of 11 targets for 73 yards in a 23-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Lamb finished with 9 catches for 70 yards on 18 targets.

Pickens is playing this season on the non-exclusive franchise tag, a one-year deal worth $27.298 million that is fully guaranteed. Dallas placed the tag on Feb. 27, and Pickens signed it April 29. The July 15 deadline for a long-term deal passed without an extension. After the first round of the draft in April, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team had no plans to trade Pickens.

Pickens stayed away from the voluntary part of the offseason program after signing. In early June, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said he had talked with Pickens, who was running his own youth football camp that weekend.

“I know he’s handling his business,” Schottenheimer said.

Pickens reported for mandatory minicamp later that month.

“Like the tag and all that, it’s just football first,” Pickens said after the first day of minicamp.

In 2025, his first season in Dallas, Pickens set career highs with 93 catches on 137 targets for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns. He was a second-team All-Pro and made his first Pro Bowl, where he was named offensive MVP of the game on Feb. 3 in San Francisco. A second tag in 2027 would cost about $32.8 million, which is 120% of this year’s figure.

Joey Porter Jr. Trade And Week 7 Trip To The Philadelphia Eagles

For Porter, Dallas sent Pittsburgh a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder that changes hands only if Porter is active for two games. The Steelers drafted Porter 32nd overall in 2023, and his rookie deal expires after this season.

Porter did not play in any of Pittsburgh’s first three games while he was in a contract standoff with the team. When he arrived in Dallas, Porter said his back felt better and described the weekly decision on whether he would be active as “more on my end.”

In his Dallas debut at Houston, Porter played 24 snaps and was targeted once. He missed the Tampa Bay game with an illness.

“I was throwing up outside my Uber on the way to the game,” Porter said Oct. 14.

The Porter deal was the third trade between the Cowboys and Steelers since May 2025. Dallas got Pickens from Pittsburgh that month for a 2026 third-round pick. In August, the Cowboys added offensive tackle Broderick Jones in another trade with the Steelers.

The Cowboys visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football on Oct. 26 at Lincoln Financial Field, with kickoff set for 7:15 p.m. CT on ESPN and ABC. Philadelphia is also 2-4. The Eagles placed quarterback Jalen Hurts on season-ending injured reserve Monday because of blood clots.