Cowboys Sources Reveal Trade-Deadline Thoughts On George Pickens

The Dallas Cowboys are being fully transparent with me - at least I hope so! - regarding their thoughts on trading George Pickens as the Tuesday NFL deadline approaches.

But I'll be fully transparent with you: My two sources who insist that as of Sunday morning the Cowboys have "no desire whatsoever'' (as one of them forcefully put it) in moving their star wide receiver were then posed a follow-up question by me.

"OK,'' I asked. "But what if you lose at the Colts on Sunday?''

And I didn't get a follow-up answer.

Now, maybe because that's because my two sources were in transit from DFW Airport to Indianapolis, where the lowly 2-6 Colts await.

Or maybe they're sick of me bugging them. (I told you, "full transparency!) 

Or maybe the people who run the 3-5 Cowboys can barely stomach even the thought of losing this game.

It's quite likely that Dallas, a six-point favorite, will win this game against a Colts franchise that is in the midst of a fire sale.

But if disaster strikes - as it has twice in recent weeks, with a pair of humiliating losses to the Bucs and the Cardinals - maybe all bets should be off here.

There are obstacles to other teams taking on Pickens, despite the fact that the gifted pass-catcher is just a year removed from his career-best 93-catch, 1,429-yard season, which earned him a Pro Bowl nod and second-team All-Pro honors. ... and despite the fact that he's been fairly productive this year, as along with a (relative) paucity of targets, he nevertheless has 37 catches for 485 yards and ranks 14th among receivers in targets and 12th in total air yards.

He's on the franchise tag at $27 million and his deal expires after this year; that's pricy.

His effort has been called into question, with head coach Brian Schottenheimer having called Pickens out last month, saying the wideout “needs to understand that he impacts us'' in ways beyond just catching passes.

(Steelers fans who watched their team trade Pickens to Dallas a year ago know this story line well.)

Pickens is also dealing with a hamstring injury, and has dealt with ankle and shoulder problems, too ... troublesome-enough issues that this weekend, Dallas made a just-in-case call-up of practice-squad receiver Jordan Hudson.

The flip side? He's a unique talent, a difference-maker, and one of the solutions as the Cowboys are hopeful of turning around their season and winning the crummy NFC East.

"I don't know why that's a thing," said Pickens' best Cowboys buddy, fellow receiver CeeDee Lamb. "C'mon man. Everything that I have been able to accomplish has been because of him and what he's done the year before. Vice versa with everything that I've accomplished the year prior to that.

"He exposed them (defenses). Just kind of taking what the defense is giving us, and I feel like that goes hand in hand with why I'm able to do what I'm doing at a great pace."  

Added QB Dak Prescott on the trade gossip: "People say a lot of things I don't believe, so I'm not listening to that one, either.''

The Cowboys are aware that if they eventually let Pickens walk, they will likely be in line for a third-round compensatory pick. Logic therefore dictates that if they do take trade calls on Pickens, any offer needs to be in excess of that.

But again, the people in charge of those "trade calls'' tell me they aren't interested in answering the phones. But - full transparently - they also don't seem interested in the ugly "what-if'' questions about what might go wrong on Sunday in Indiana.