Cowboys Notes: Pickens, Williams, Clark, Clowney, Dean, Liufau

Although the Cowboys placed the nonexclusive franchise tag on George Pickens, they should not exactly be worried about someone poaching him. An offer sheet is seen as highly unlikely, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. An unmatched franchise tag offer sheet would result in two first-rounders coming back to Dallas. Pickens’ standout 2025 season notwithstanding, he would not fetch that in a trade. While a tag-and-trade scenario has been mentioned here — as the Cowboys have CeeDee Lamb on a $34MM-per-year extension — the team looks set to retain its high-profile WR2 for 2026.

“We couldn’t take the chance on losing him,” executive VP Stephen Jones said, via AllDLLS.com’s Clarence Hill. “George was fired up, excited. He said I don’t want to play anywhere but with the Cowboys. That’s what we suspected. It was all good.”

Jerry Jones spoke with Pickens by phone from the Combine following the tag, per Hill. Pickens, 25, cannot be fined for skipping minicamp or training camp workouts until he signs his $28.3MM franchise tender. The Cowboys are a staggering $56MM-plus over the cap after tagging Pickens, but they will be able to restructure contracts — including Lamb, Dak Prescott, DaRon Bland and Osa Odighizuwa — to create considerable room ahead of free agency.

Here is the latest from around Dallas:

• Another way to create some cap space would be extending Kenny Clark or Quinnen Williams. The Clark-Odighizuwa-Williams trio is set to count a whopping $63.9MM against the Cowboys’ 2026 cap, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris notes the team is in discussions to improve that situation this week. Clark is due an $11MM roster bonus March 13, but Harris adds he is unlikely to be traded, pointing to an extension being in play. Clark is in the final year of a three-year, $66MM Packers-designed deal — one shipped to Dallas in the Micah Parsons trade — and going into an age-31 season. The Cowboys are not expected to deal a player from their three-DT logjam, with new DC Christian Parker exploring ways to maximize it. If one of the DTs is to be moved, though, Harris points to Clark being the top departure candidate.
• In December, a second Jadeveon Clowney Cowboys contract was in play. With Parker now running the defense, Clowney’s Dallas future appears foggier. Stephen Jones confirmed (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) no talks with the free agent-to-be have taken place. “We’re gonna work through with [Parker]. A lot of it will happen this coming week, in terms of the type of player (we’re looking for),” Jones said. “We’re gonna continue to have those talks, and then we’ll make final decisions on who we think will be productive in this particular system.” Clowney, 33 in April, has played for seven teams in 12 NFL seasons. The former No. 1 overall pick tallied 8.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss — his most TFLs since his 2018 Houston finale — as a bright spot on a bad Dallas defense.
• With Parker coming over from Philadelphia, some Eagles could be in play to follow him. The Cowboys should be expected to pursue Nakobe Dean, Hill adds. Parker and Dean overlapped for two seasons, and the latter is one of the top ILBs available. Dean’s injury history will make it unlikely he competes with Devin Lloyd or Quay Walker prices on this year’s market, but the former third-round pick should fare decently in free agency. Although Dean wants to stay in Philly, the Eagles paid Zack Baun and using a first-round pick on Jihaad Campbell last year. That makes Dean likely to relocate soon. The Cowboys have a clear need at linebacker, having cut trade pickup Logan Wilson this week. DeMarvion Overshown is also in a contract year.
• As Parker prepares to install a 3-4 defense, Marist Liufau will change positions. The off-ball linebacker is moving to a 3-4 OLB role, Machota adds. A 2024 third-round pick, Liufau has made 14 starts in two seasons.