Report: George Pickens fires back at Payton Wilson, rips Pittsburgh Steelers after Cowboys trade

The George Pickens-Pittsburgh Steelers marriage was not for long. After taking the talented wideout in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh flipped him to the Dallas Cowboys this past Wednesday, just before he enters the final year of his rookie deal.

Steelers general manager Omar Khan said a trade “made sense for everyone.” Pickens said it was “out of my control.” Sunday, Pickens took the gloves off, ripping the organization on social media. In a since deleted Instagram comment, he wrote, “They the cheapest organization. Ain’t no stacking year after year they gone let them n***** go too soon as it’s time Lmaoo.”

George Pickens commenting about the Steelers on instagram #steelers pic.twitter.com/sxWFXyMXXi

— Matthew Luciow (@matthewluciow92) May 11, 2025

Pickens commented under a video posted by Prospect Media, in which Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson and cornerback Beanie Bishop were discussing the trade. Wilson made a point that the team makes moves with the future in mind.

“The front office isn’t just making moves for like this year,” Wilson said. “You know, that’s what I’ve had to learn is like they’re really trying to stack year on top of year on top of year. Obviously, us, we want to win a Super Bowl every single year. But it’s probably a little different front office.”

George Pickens trade: Pittsburgh Steelers GM Omar Khan reveals Dallas Cowboys initiated talks

Dallas acquired Pickens and a 2026 sixth round pick from Pittsburgh in exchange for a 2026 third round pick and a 2027 fifth round pick. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported ahead of Day 2 of this year’s draft that the Steelers had been receiving calls on the availability of Pickens.

At the same time, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he was working on “pretty substantive trades” that could happen “before or after the draft.” Less than two weeks after the draft, Jones has got his guy. Khan said Friday that Pickens never requested out of Pittsburgh and the team did not initiate talks with the Cowboys.

“The trade sort of happened quickly,” Khan said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “We had some people inquire during the draft. Nothing that really made sense. The Cowboys reached out earlier this week. They proposed something for us to think about. We had conversations internally.”

Pickens appeared in 14 games last season as he missed some time with an injury. During that time, he hauled in 59 receptions for 900 yards and three touchdowns as a key piece of the Steelers’ passing attack. That came after an impressive second year in the NFL in 2023 when he had a career-high 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. His 18.1 yards per reception led the league that season.