When a coach with Mike Tomlin’s track record – 19 consecutive winning seasons and a reputation for managing the most combustible personalities in the league decides a receiver isn’t worth keeping, other teams notice. Former NFL offensive lineman turned analyst, Ross Tucker, believes that’s exactly what happened to Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens’ trade market.
“People know Mike Tomlin’s history and what he got out of guys like Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, and Antonio Brown before they move on, and maybe had more dive-ish behaviour at their next stops,” Tucker told 105.3 The Fan. “For Mike Tomlin to move on from Pickens, that speaks volumes.”
Tomlin kept Antonio Brown functional for nine seasons, but once he left the team, things did not work for him as he moved to the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots, before ending his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fines, social media antics, and even legal trouble followed him out of Pittsburgh. Santonio Holmes, meanwhile, won a Super Bowl MVP under Tomlin. But legal troubles, league suspensions, and sideline altercations with teammates became the headlines when he joined the New York Jets.
The pattern across these instances was that they all produced spectacular results on the field, and Tomlin’s system kept them all in check. But it was chaos outside the moment they left. This history, for Ross Tucker, is what shaped what teams were willing to offer Pickens.
.@RossTuckerNFL tells @gavindawson, @ZachWolchuk, @EricChiofalo & Bryan Broaddus (@CrwnGlobalMedia) why he’s not surprised teams aren’t interested in trading for Pickens:
“George Pickens’ reputation precedes him. … For Mike Tomlin to move on from Pickens, that speaks volumes.” pic.twitter.com/Rj8UfmJm5Q
— 105.3 The FAN (@1053thefan) May 7, 2026
In 2024, with the Pittsburgh Steelers, George Pickens caught 59 passes for 900 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was 23 years old and under contract, putting up some good numbers. But his in-game discipline was questionable. In Week 5 against the Cowboys, he grabbed cornerback Jourdan Lewis’ facemask. Two months later, after Pickens drew two costly unsportsmanlike conduct flags against the Cincinnati Bengals, Tomlin stopped defending him publicly.
“He’s just got to grow up, man,” Tomlin had said. “This is an emotional game, man. These divisional games are big. He’s got a target on his back because he’s George; he understands that. But he’s got to grow up. He’s got to grow up in a hurry.”
The next offseason, Pickens got shipped off to the Dallas Cowboys. Steelers insider Mark Kaboly had confirmed at the time that the decision came from the coach himself; the front office only signed off on it.
“Make no mistake about it, Tomlin – who has gone out his way in the past to defend Pickens – is the one who decided that the Pickens rehabilitation project needed to end a year early,” Kaboly wrote. “The ultimate decision had very little to do with general manager Omar Khan (although he signed off on it, too), and of course it was OK’d by team owner Art Rooney II.”
Those actions proved to be a red flag for teams, as it took him until May to get picked. It was the Cowboys who gambled on him, but Tucker believes it would be tough for him to demand a larger contract due to all that had happened.
“I think there’s a bunch of teams that would have been interested in him, but I think they would have wanted to date him for a year and not marry him for a long-term deal with big money,” Tucker said. “So why are they going to offer a bigger contract than the Cowboys would and trade draft picks, trade assets to give him that type of contract?”
The money question is where it gets very specific. By the end of 2025, Pickens had already racked up over $219,000 in publicly reported NFL fines. These fines were drawn against taunting, goalpost celebrations, violent gestures, and multiple instances of unsportsmanlike conduct. The Cowboys, too, internally disciplined him during the 2025 season for missing the team bus on a game day – all while on a rookie deal. Tucker’s concern wasn’t just behavioral; it was financial and structural.
“To be honest with you, if he’s had the erratic behavior when he’s been making relative peanuts compared to NFL star receivers, what’s the behavior going to be like if you give him $40 million a year and he basically has carte blanche to do whatever you want?” Tucker said on 105.3 The Fan.
But no bidding war formed around Pickens. There were reports of people trying to look for trade opportunities during the draft. But he ultimately signed the one-year franchise tender worth $27.298 million, with zero competition forcing the price up. The Cowboys aren’t his team by default. They’re his last real shot at a long-term deal. Both sides know it, and that’s what Dallas isn’t budging.
The Cowboys shut the door on trade talks
George Pickens earned his first career Pro Bowl in a season that saw him make 93 catches for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns. Career-best numbers, a full season played, with 15 undeniable starts. Still, those numbers do not come close to describing the highlight reel plays he produced for Dallas, and Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones has seen it all firsthand. So, when he was asked about Pickens’ future this week, he didn’t hedge.
“There’s zero interest in a trade for George Pickens,” Jones said on Mad Dog Radio. “Zero interest.”
Pickens’ raw athleticism throughout the season had helped first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer raise his passing offense to rank second-best in the league (266.3 yards per game). As an offensive coordinator the season before, he’d ranked 11th (227.2 yards per game). Even Schottenheimer shut down any trade chatter around Pickens when asked about it recently.
“I don’t think there’s any reason for us to have that [trade talk],” Schottenheimer said. “That’s not what we plan on doing.”
George Pickens signed his tender on April 29, after sitting on it for over two months. Dallas never intended to offer a long-term extension before the July 15 deadline, and that has been their position from day one.
Until Pickens signed that tender, the Cowboys may have risked leaving production on the table by not locking up a Pro Bowl receiver. But teams had time, need, and cap space. Nobody in the league challenged Dallas’ position with an actual offer. While his talent did the talking on the floor, Pickens might have to show maturity and discipline if he wants to earn his bag next offseason.
