The Dallas Cowboys have struggled to begin the 2026 NFL season. Their defense has been extremely disappointing, but the offense has also been underwhelming lately.

Brian Schottenheimer's offense underperforming, combined with the poor defensive play from Christian Parker's unit, has resulted in a 2-4 record heading into Week 7 against the 2-4 Philadelphia Eagles. This is a must-win game for the Cowboys.

If they lose, ESPN's Ben Solak's inkling that the Cowboys could potentially trade away George Pickens might be one step closer to coming true. A Pickens trade would be a massive decision for Dallas, but it actually does make some sense.

ESPN analyst believes a George Pickens trade has a non-zero chance of happening

"I might think ... George Pickens is a trade candidate," Solak writes. "His effort level and focus seem to be waning again, and the Cowboys will struggle to pay Pickens and cornerback Joey Porter Jr., whom they recently traded for."

Would Pickens' effort and focus, combined with the Porter trade, really lead Dallas to trade the star wide receiver? Most likely not.

But, as Solak highlighted, if the Cowboys "keep losing games" after their 2-4 start, then maybe Dallas entertains offers for Pickens this Fall.

Jerry Jones isn't afraid of making big moves, and trading Pickens amid a lost season would be something that Cowboys fans shouldn't put past him, especially after he traded Micah Parsons.

Dallas has three games until the NFL trade deadline, before Week 10. They face the Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 7, followed by the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts in Weeks 8 and 9, respectively.

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The Cowboys should really win all three of those games, or at the very least two of three. If Dallas somehow loses two, or even all three of these games, they'd be 3-6 or worse at the trade deadline.

In such a scenario, selling at the trade deadline wouldn't be that shocking, especially if a team starts to run away with the NFC East.

While it's an incredibly unlikely set of circumstances to get to such a point, in that scenario, maybe the Cowboys would consider trading Pickens.

He'd fetch a huge return, likely a second-round pick or more. A team like the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, or Las Vegas Raiders would make a lot of sense for Pickens in a trade.

It's probably safe to predict that Pickens won't be traded by Jones this season, as Dallas has a real chance of winning this division despite their disappointing start to the year.

But, as Solak "might think," there's a non-zero chance Pickens is on the move this Fall. It's incredibly unlikely, but sitting at 2-4, this trade rumor from Solak is a harsh reality Dallas might have to face if things get worse from now until the NFL trade deadline.

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