The Cowboys’ long-running search for an upper-crust No. 2 wide receiver appears to have ended with the George Pickens trade. Although Dallas does not have assurances Pickens will be more than a one-year rental, the team has an intriguing CeeDee Lamb complementary piece for 2025.
Dallas and Pittsburgh had begun discussing Pickens before the draft, and the NFC East team upped its offer — to one headlined by a 2026 third-round pick, as opposed to a fourth — to seal the deal. Prior to that agreement, however, the Cowboys are believed to have called the Ravens about one of their Zay Flowers supporting-casters.
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Rashod Bateman drew Dallas interest, according to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz. The Cowboys and Ravens discussed Bateman, though Schultz adds the conversation did not progress too far. Bateman has not delivered Pickens-level production yet, but the Ravens have shown faith in the 2021 first-round pick.
The sides agreed on an extension last year, after Baltimore let Odell Beckham Jr. walk in free agency, and Bateman’s second contract likely led to a higher asking price coming from the AFC North team. The former first-round pick is signed through 2026 at just $6.4MM per year.
Bateman’s production would not warrant a lofty asking price; Pickens has the Minnesota alum lapped there. At 25, Bateman is also more than a year older and carries a notable injury history that Pickens does not. But the Ravens expressed confidence in the former No. 27 overall pick’s trajectory by extending him. The Ravens saw Bateman help Lamar Jackson to a third first-team All-Pro season by posting a career-high 756 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. The latter number smashed Bateman’s career-best mark, as he had not previously surpassed two TDs in a season.
Not bringing the maturity concerns Pickens does, Bateman also carrying a through-2026 contract — with base salaries of just $3.75 (guaranteed) and $6.5MM (nonguaranteed) — would make him a player that would command a reasonable asking price in a trade. The Ravens also did not add a wide receiver until Round 6 in this year’s draft, which came after the team replaced Nelson Agholor with DeAndre Hopkins in free agency.
Not missing a game due to injury over the past two seasons, Bateman has created some distance from the concerns that developed after an injury-marred 2022 campaign. With Hopkins not delivering too much for a Chiefs team in need at receiver last season, the Ravens will again count on Bateman as their top Flowers sidekick.
As we covered in our latest Trade Rumors Front Office piece, the Steelers have established a decades-long trend of not having two wideouts tied to lucrative contracts. Despite having no franchise-QB salary on their books, the Steelers agreed to part with Pickens for a package headlined by only a third-round pick. Pickens follows Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, Martavis Bryant and Santonio Holmes as Mike Tomlin-era receivers traded in a contract year. (Pittsburgh also traded Antonio Brown, but he was not in a walk year in 2019.)
Pittsburgh had effectively determined it would not extend Pickens, a player Dallas brass will now evaluate. Rather than having Bateman for two more seasons, the Cowboys have Pickens contracted for one and hold exclusive negotiating rights with him until March.