Cowboys' George Pickens named as a Rams trade target after Puka Nacua's knee injury
With Puka Nacua headed for injured reserve, the New York Post lists Cowboys receiver George Pickens first among the Rams' possible trade targets.
George Pickens is the latest Cowboy pulled into the trade deadline talk. The New York Post put the Dallas receiver first on its list of three wideouts the Los Angeles Rams should go after. Los Angeles needs help after Sean McVay said Monday that Puka Nacua will miss "at least a month" with MCL and PCL sprains in his right knee.
The Rams' receiver room was already thin. Davante Adams has been on injured reserve since a hamstring injury in October, and the Post reports that Nacua is also playing through turf toe and will likely go on IR as well. Nacua had been carrying the passing game: 14 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown on 19 targets in a 20-13 win over Washington. The Post calls Pickens a dark-horse candidate, not a likely deal, and the deadline closes Tuesday at 1 p.m. PT.
The Post makes its case for Pickens on several points. He is in the final year of his deal unless Dallas uses the franchise tag on him again, which the Post puts at $32.8 million, and it reports that extension talks have been minimal. He walked off the field before the end of the 33-30 overtime loss to Arizona, and he missed Sunday's game in Indianapolis with a hamstring injury. He has also not matched last season's 93 catches, 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. The Post adds that prying him loose would probably cost the Rams several mid- to high-round picks. That is a lot to pay for a player with a sore hamstring and an expiring contract, and Dallas is not yet out of the race.
The Cowboys gave a sign they can manage without him for now. They won 27-23 at Indianapolis with Pickens inactive, beating a Colts team the Post describes as the league's most active seller. The win moved Dallas to 4-5.
What it means for the 49ers game
Dallas hosts San Francisco on Sunday, November 15, on Fox. Before then the Cowboys have to decide whether to keep Pickens and whether his hamstring will let him play. They are 3-2 on the road but only 1-3 at Arlington, where their one win came against Washington (37-20). The home losses to Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Arizona came by a combined 21 points.
The offense has scored in volume, averaging about 27.3 points a game, but the defense is allowing roughly 26.2. Seven of the nine games were decided by eight points or fewer. That profile helps explain the high total on the board for this game, which sits at 55.5 at most of the 12 venues. Dallas games have averaged about 53.6 combined points.
San Francisco is favored. Novig has the 49ers at -212 on the moneyline and Dallas at +208, and the best 49ers price anywhere is Pinnacle's -208. On the spread, Novig lists San Francisco -4.5 at +102, while DraftKings offers the 49ers -3.5 at -112, a full point shorter. On the total, Pinnacle's -107 is the best price on the over at 55.5, and Hard Rock Bet has the under at 56.5 for -110. Sportsbook hold runs from 2.9% to 4.8% on the sides, so the venues are close together. The biggest gap is the one-point difference on the spread.
If Pickens is still in Dallas after Tuesday and healthy enough to play, he will be a factor against San Francisco. If he is traded or still hurt, the Cowboys will have to keep scoring like they did in Indianapolis without him.