If you're still upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers trading their best offensive player to the Dallas Cowboys in May, look away. Since arriving on his new team, George Pickens has been praised by All-Pro teammates like CeeDee Lamb and has already been putting together OTA highlight reels with one-handed catches.
Now the former Steelers receiver is getting a cosmetic change that the Steelers refused to allow.
On Tuesday, the official Dallas Cowboys account on X posted a picture of Pickens in his jersey number. The fourth-year wide receiver will be sporting No. 3 in blue and silver this season.
The Steelers are still old-school this way. They wouldn't permit Joey Porter Jr. to wear a single-digit number after being selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Likewise, Pickens, who wore No. 1 in college for the Georgia Bulldogs, was forced to go the traditional route with a number in the 80s or teens, as he ultimately settled with No. 14.
But that number had a pretty pitiful history in Pittsburgh.
Before Pickens put on the black and gold threads, it left a sour taste in our mouths after seeing failed wide receivers like Limas Sweed and Sammie Coates with one-four on their jerseys. A number is just that—a number. However, seeing Pickens in any facet is a sad reminder of what this team will be missing on the field in 2025.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans have a superficial reason to feel remorse over the George Pickens trade.
It's been roughly a month since the Pittsburgh Steelers surprisingly sent George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2026 third-round pick and Day 3 pick swap, but for some fans, the sting still hasn't gone away. In our minds, we were about to see an offense that included Pickens and DK Metcalf bully smaller cornerbacks on the outside with skill players like Pat Freiermuth, Calvin Austin III, and Roman Wilson working the slot.
What could have been one of the better wide receiver pairings in the NFL was quickly disassembled. Despite his quirks, questionable effort at times, and cringeworthy responses to media questions, Pickens was a Steelers fan favorite thanks to his unmatched acrobatic ability when the football was in the air.
Sadly, we will now be forced to watch Cowboys fans rant and rave over their new weapon. Pickens turned just 24 years old this offseason, and analysts are already projecting the budding receiver to have the best season of his NFL career to date.
There are dozens of fans expressing their emotions in the comment section of the Cowboys' X post on their new star receiver. But don't get worked up every time you see George Pickens. Just think about the headaches he caused while in Pittsburgh and imagine him doing the same to put the Dallas Cowboys in self-destruct mode. That will ease the pain.