The Cowboys’ trade deadline conversation is getting louder, and Dak Prescott didn’t exactly sound interested in entertaining it.
With Tuesday, November 10, creeping closer, Dallas is still trying to figure out whether it will act like a buyer or a seller. The team’s recent slide - three losses in four weeks in games it could have won - has only pushed George Pickens back into the center of the discussion.
Pickens is on the franchise tag and his numbers have dipped this season, but he still has backing inside the building. Prescott made that clear when he was asked ahead of the Week 9 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts what he’d say to people who think the Cowboys should move the receiver.
“People say a lot of things I don’t believe, so I’m not listening to that one, either,” Prescott said. “George is a great teammate. And I say that in the sense of, he’s gonna do whatever is asked, he’s gonna do whatever is called.
“If it’s to go block, if it’s to just go run a guy off, he’s gonna do that. He believes in just doing the right thing, and the ball will come his way at times. And so, that’s not on George.”
That answer did more than defend Pickens. It also seemed to take a shot at the way the offense has used him.
Pickens has 39 catches for 533 yards and two touchdowns this season, and he has also been taken off the field in key moments in favor of Ryan Flournoy. Brian Schottenheimer and others have suggested that has been tied to run-blocking and/or injuries.
For now, the Cowboys have one week left to decide what happens before the deadline. If Pickens stays put, his contract situation is going to become one of the bigger offseason storylines in the NFL.
Sunday afternoon should offer another clue about how Dallas plans to use him, but the signs around the offense point to people wanting more from Pickens, not less.
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