Cowboys stars reject George Pickens trade talk ahead of NFL deadline

FRISCO, Texas -- There has been plenty of smoke about the Dallas Cowboys considering a George Pickens trade. The NFL trade deadline comes Nov. 10, and the 25-year-old is playing out the 2026 season on the franchise tag. 

If the decision about whether or not to trade Pickens was in the hands of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, Pickens would not only not be traded but extended when eligible in the 2027 offseason.

"People say a lot of things I don't believe, so I'm not listening to that one, either," Prescott said Thursday when asked about those who think Pickens should be traded. 

Lamb credited Pickens for his own strong start to the 2026 season. Lamb ranks third in the league in catches (60), third in receiving yards (709) and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (six). A year ago, Pickens' 1,429 receiving yards ranked third in the NFL. This year, Pickens' 533 receiving yards rank 16th. 

"I don't know why that's a thing," Lamb said Thursday of Pickens' trade talks. "C'mon man. Everything that I have been able to accomplish has been because of him and what he's done the year before. Vice versa with everything that I've accomplished the year prior to that. He exposed them [opposing defenses]. Just kind of taking what the defense is giving us, and I feel like that goes hand in hand with why I'm able to do what I'm doing at a great pace."  

One of the reasons why Pickens trade talk emerged is because Dallas coach Brian Schottenheimer singled him out. After a 23-13 road defeat at the Green Bay Packers, Schottenheimer singled out Pickens' performance as a run blocker after the Cowboys produced a season-low 48 rushing yards. It wasn't just Schottenheimer's critique that fueled the trade talks, it's how Schottenheimer has deployed Pickens since those remarks.

Since Week 7, Lamb clearly leads the way in offensive snaps with 106. Over the last two games, Dallas No. 3 wide receiver Ryan Flournoy (98 offensive snaps) has 19 more snaps than Pickens (79). Lamb leads the way in targets on the team over the last few weeks with 23, and Pickens has just two more targets (10-8) than Flournoy in this span. The team has attributed some of that to Pickens dealing with shoulder and hamstring injuries, and entering Week 9 with the Indianapolis Colts, Pickens is listed only as having a hamstring injury instead of both issues. Prescott maintains that Pickens has been nothing but a great teammate in light of Schottenheimer's recent comments. 

"George is a great teammate," Prescott said. "And I say that in the sense of, he's gonna do whatever is asked, he's going to do whatever is called. If it's to go block, if it's to just go run a guy off, he's going to do that. He believes in just doing the right thing, and the ball will come his way at times. And so, that's not on George."  

Targets

23

10

8

Catches

12

6

7

Receiving yards

132

105

108

Receiving TD

2

1

1

Offensive snaps

106

79

98

Lamb, who is far and away Pickens' best friend on the Cowboys, is doing what he can to keep Pickens' head up so that he can thrive once again when the football finds its way back to him. 

"Just when his time comes, I know that he is going to be ready," Lamb said. "That's the only conversation that we have. When that moment comes, you can't really go off of what just happened because if that's the case, you're going to drive yourself into a ditch to be honest. You have to move on, be grown about the situation, come to practice ready to work again and have that same mentality that you had before the game. Remember how you felt. Use that as fuel."

So what can be done to get Pickens going early for a Cowboys offense that has had bouts of inconsistency in its 3-5 start to the season? Get plays on Schottenheimer's call sheet that feature Pickens early in the game. 

"I think if anything is going to really come on this later end of the week and just how we sequence up the starters and the plays, the list that we put together of how we want to start this game," Prescott said. "I think from there, you'll see."

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