The Pittsburgh Steelers shipped former second-round pick George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys this week in exchange for 2026 draft compensation. General manager Omar Khan said Friday that he doesn't consider the decision to part with the talented but mercurial wideout a disappointment.
"I wouldn't use the word 'disappointment,'" Khan said, via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We had three years with George. We had some exciting times. The fresh start for both sides was the best thing."
The Steelers traded Pickens to Dallas in exchange for a 2026 third-round selection and a late-round pick-swap. Khan noted that the deal went down after the Cowboys reached out post-draft.
"It sort of happened quickly," he said. "We had some people inquire during the draft, nothing that really made sense. The Cowboys reached out … earlier this week, and they proposed something for us to think about. We had conversations internally. We also had conversations with George's agent, Dave (Mulugheta), who I have a good relationship with. We discussed where things had been with George, where they are, where things could go with George. This trade made sense for everyone."
Khan noted that Pickens never requested a trade.
The dynamics of the situation didn't necessarily necessitate a request.
The writing was on the wall for Pickens' future in Pittsburgh after the Steelers acquired DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks and handed him a $30 million-per-year contract. The question was whether Pittsburgh would move on now or after the former Georgia Bulldog played out the final year of his contract.
Following the Pickens trade, the Steelers have questions in their receiver room. Pittsburgh added veteran Robert Woods, but the 33-year-old is coming off a 203-yard, 0-TD season in 15 games. Calvin Austin III flashed some field-stretching ability last year. The key to the crew will be 2024 third-round pick Roman Wilson, who played just five total offensive snaps as a rookie due to injury.
"Roman has been here working the past few weeks and we saw him at the end of last season," Khan said, per the team website's Dale Lolley.
Pickens joins the likes of Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, James Washington and others who left their careers in Pittsburgh on a downswing. Khan, who took over as GM in 2022, said that string doesn't change how the club evaluates the position.
"No, it's something that's just really coincidence that has played out with position," he said. "We're always trying to get good players regardless of what position it's at at any point of the year. I think there's some coincidence to that, but we want to get good players and good people. We're chasing a championship. Every decision we make is based on trying to win a championship not only in the future, but this year. We're focused on trying to win a championship this year. I know there's a lot of questions about different things, but there's a lot of time between now and the start of the season. Rest assured, we're trying to win a championship this year."
The biggest piece of that puzzle remains who will be throwing to that revamped WR corps, with the Aaron Rodgers situation still flapping in the spring winds.