The Dallas Cowboys' George Pickens trade has fans feeling a lot of strong emotions on Wednesday morning. There's excitement, of course, around the team bringing in an explosive playmaker. There's also apprehension about his locker room impact and how he fits into the Cowboys' messy salary cap situation.
It turns out that players have strong feelings about it too.
Former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who left in free agency this spring after spending his first eight NFL seasons in Dallas, clearly hates the move. He publicly celebrated no longer being in Dallas. And when you consider his history with Pickens, it's not hard to see why.
Jourdan Lewis Takes Shot at Cowboys' George Pickens Trade
Fans were hoping Lewis would be a priority in free agency, but he signed almost immediately with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The speed at which he found a new team seemed surprising, but then he opened up about years of frustration with the Cowboys. But his latest shot is as much about Pickens as it is about the 'Boys.
Pickens, who can generously be described as "passionate" or wearing his heart on his sleeve, has a direct history with Lewis — one that got him fined $10,000.
With Lewis celebrating in his face, Pickens threw the veteran to the ground by the facemask, opening up a bit of an altercation between the two teams. It was a quick, foolish one-off move, but it's also not like this would have been the first interaction between the two.
Between Lewis' celebration and Pickens' response, it was clearly the culmination of a battle that had been brewing all game.
The Cowboys will miss Lewis in the secondary, but if you ask most Dallas fans if they could only have one of Lewis or Pickens, it's clear who they'd choose. With this kind of attitude, Cowboys fans are happy Lewis has left for Jacksonville, too.