Ryan Clark Warns Cowboys About George Pickens

The Pittsburgh Steelers, once again, have had enough.

On Wednesday, the Steelers sent receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys for a third-round pick and a swap of 2027 Day 3 picks. They’ll move forward with newly acquired star DK Metcalf and no partner in crime, limiting the potency of the 2025 offense for a better draft class in a year’s time.

There will be plenty of time to dissect Pittsburgh’s offense and how much it will miss its leading receiver. That, of course, would be amplified by a strong season in Dallas.

Pickens and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is just about the best match they were going to find this late in the offseason. Prescott’s prowess downfield and Pickens’ knack for the highlight play meshes nicely – on the field.

When he’s not making big plays, Pickens has earned a reputation as a temperamental target who can fall victim to taunting cornerbacks and grow frustrated at his role in the offense. For some, that “diva” personality is cherished. For others, it’s a red flag.

Former Steelers safety warned the Cowboys about Pickens after the deal became official.

"Mike Tomlin consistently says he doesn't run from coaching,” Clark said on “Get Up.” “... If George Pickens, with that immense amount of talent, can no longer exist in that locker room, it's going to be difficult for him to exist anywhere."

Tomlin has been known to manage some of the sport’s biggest, most volatile personalities while keeping the train on the tracks. It might be his biggest non-Super Bowl success as a coach. But when Tomlin lets a talented receiver out of his grasp, trouble tends to follow.

Antonio Brown’s post-Pittsburgh story speaks for itself, although it isn’t necessarily fair to compare Pickens’ proclivity for unnecessary roughness penalties to Brown’s streak of increasingly troubling acts. A better comparison would be Pickens’ former teammate, Diontae Johnson.

Traded for cornerback Donte Jackson in 2024, Johnson was fine on the Carolina Panthers before being traded to the competitive Baltimore Ravens. When he didn’t get the role he anticipated, he quit on the team before being waived. The Houston Texans picked him up, only to waive him in between playoff games.

Pickens doesn’t have to fall in line and be the next Steelers star to lose his footing without Tomlin’s hand to hold. Untold success could be waiting on the other side of his behavioral development. In the spotlight of the NFL and the heart of the media storm, his work is cut out for him in Dallas.