George Pickens has a new NFL home in the Dallas Cowboys, having been offloaded by the Pittsburgh Steelers in a trade on Wednesday.
The Steelers had reportedly attempted to dangle Pickens in trade talks during the NFL draft, but weren't getting many bites. According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, teams "laughed" at the idea of bringing the controversial receiver into their locker room, even at the price of a Day 2 draft selection.
"Word leaked during the draft that Pickens was available if anyone wanted him. Some teams polled byThe Athletic at the time laughed at the idea of inviting Pickens into their locker room for any price, let alone a second-day draft pick. There wasn't a lot of interest in talking with the Steelers about a trade," Howe wrote on Wednesday.
Throughout his career, Pickens has often found his name in headlines for the wrong reasons, and it seems those controversies may have led many teams to turn down advances from the Steelers.
It's been reported that the decision to trade Pickens was made by Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who had come to the defense of the wide receiver on multiple occasions throughout the first few seasons of his career.
Although it doesn't appear teams had any interest in a draft-day trade involving the former first-round receiver, Jerry Jones & Co. managed to get a deal done a couple of weeks after the draft. The Cowboys acquired Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round draft pick in exchange for a '26 third-round pick and a '27 fifth-round pick.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Teams 'Laughed' at Idea of Trading for George Pickens During the Draft.