Insider reveals what really happened in the Steelers' George Pickens trade
Appearing on Fox Sports Radio last week, Caplan shared some interesting details on the two-month-old Pickens trade — including when the Steelers really decided it was time to part ways:
"[The Steelers] made a decision, at the end of the 2024 season, that they knew they were not going to extend George Pickens' contract," Caplan said. "There was no way this would work with Pickens, they felt. And they were going to move him for whatever they could get — the best they could get. And Dallas was very interested, and they made that work."
Caplan then argued that the 2025 NFL Draft's solid, but overall underwhelming, receiver class was a major reason behind Pittsburgh's decision to replace Pickens with DK Metcalf:
"They had to get somebody to replace Pickens, and they were not gonna wait for the draft," Caplan said. "By the way, the word around the league was: nice receiver draft, not great. And they felt like Metcalf was better than anyone in this draft, and they might be right about that, so they made this move."
There were rumors and reports that the Cowboys were interested in acquiring Pickens leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft — but as we all know, a trade wouldn't come to fruition until almost two weeks after the event's conclusion.
If the insight is accurate and the Steelers were truly set on trading Pickens after the 2024 season, the motivation to acquire Metcalf before the draft makes sense — but the move still didn't address the WR2 issues that plagued the team last year.
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