10:55pm: The Cowboys have until July 15 to work out a multiyear deal with Pickens, but it does not appear that will happen. “We’ve made a decision that we’re going to have George Pickens (play under the franchise tag),” executive vice president Stephen Jones said Wednesday (via Jon Machota of The Athletic). “There won’t be negotiations on a long-term deal.”
Barring a 180 from the Cowboys, Pickens is in line to become the first NFLer to play under the tag since Bengals receiver Tee Higgins did so in 2024. Pickens has yet to sign his franchise tender, though, and it is unclear if he will take part in their offseason program (per Machota). Pickens will be the fifth Cowboy to play on the tag since 2018, as DeMarcus Lawrence (2018), Dak Prescott (2020), Dalton Schultz (2022) and Tony Pollard preceded the wide receiver here.
11:24am: The Cowboys have made little progress on a long-term deal with wide receiver George Pickens, who is currently tied to a $27.3MM salary cap for the 2026 season.
“They’re nowhere with George Pickens right now,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on Get Up ESPN on Wednesday. “They are not really talking about an extension. They’re not close to an extension. They are not getting a deal done at this point in time.”
Pickens, 25, arrived in Dallas last offseason via a trade with the Steelers. He put up career-highs of 93 catches, 1,429 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns, leading the Cowboys and ranking among the league’s top-10 receivers in each category.
With the wide receiver market eclipsing $40MM, Pickens’ production set up an inevitable franchise tag. The Cowboys have repeatedly indicated they would like to work out a long-term deal, but the four-year veteran may have an aggressive ask. Dallas could also be comfortable with the price of his franchise tag and plan to see if Pickens can recreate his production. That would set up an even more expensive franchise tag and/or multiyear extension in 2027, though any regression could perhaps lead to a cheaper deal. That still feels unlikely given Pickens’ ascendance and the ever-rising price of premium receiver talent, but it is certainly possible.
The Cowboys may also consider selecting a top wideout in this weekend’s draft to give themselves multiple options for their receiver room in the short- and long-term.
“That situation is just sitting out there,” Schefter adds. “And the Cowboys are said to really like [Arizona State wide receiver] Jordyn Tyson.”
Tyson’s stock has risen significantly since his workout in front of several teams, who are now more confident about his medical history. The Cowboys would probably have to use their first first-round pick (No. 12 overall) to get him, if he even falls that far. They have been linked to a trade into the top 10, but those reports have generally indicated that Dallas would make such a move for an elite defender, not an offensive skill player.
Seems to me I’ve heard this somewhere before. Deja Vu?
Get back to me when Pickens is sitting out during training camp with made up injuries. Until then this is just the media regurgitating a tired old story for clicks.
One thing they should have learned from his time in Pittsburgh is an unhappy Pickens is a psychotic Pickens. But they wanted him anyway. Now they have him.
They would undoubtedly take a WR at 12 if they thought he had Dez Bryant/Ceedee Lamb potential. The reality is that this team will only win a Super Bowl if they have the best offense in the league. The defense is such a mess & will never be great in Dak’s prime window.
Taking a WR at 12 with their secondary being equivalent to a PAC12 defense, would be a joke. Jerry is a lot of things but he drafts very very well
Mazi Smith? Taco Charlton? Leighton Vander Esch (yes, there were known neck issues with him prior to NFL)?
Will McClay drafts very well. Jerry Jones has to be talked off the ledge from doing something crazy.
Very Jerry move to draft a WR. Or TE.
I promise you, the moment Pickens gets paid, he’s gone. It won’t be AB84, but it will be compared to it
Jerry playing tough negotiations w/ high a profile player is as annual as the draft.
keep him away from the sideline training tables
Cue George Pickens entering the stadium before a game eating nachos and sleeping on the training table during the game. This is going to be a s*** show.
I would have been shocked in small d didn’t act this stupid. Thanks for never changing Jerrah & Stephen 😂🤣😂
Tyson @ 12- Faulk @ 20
I’m surprised more disgruntled players don’t refuse to sign their franchise tenders until just after week 10–or at least threaten to take this option. Doing so would still allow them to accrue a season for collective bargaining purposes but it limits their injury exposure. If they have not signed the franchise tender they can’t be fined because technically it’s not a holdout as they are not under contract. Of course, the downside is they forfeit game checks for each week they do not sign the tender, but, again, it limits their injury exposure and puts the team in a bad spot.
You tell the team, sign me to a long-term deal or trade me to a team that will.
It’s because of Leveon Bell. He sat out and it ruined his career
It’s a good point… Then again le’veon loved weed more than football anyway
He also signed with the Jets, which is a other good way to ruin your career 😁
It didn’t ruin Bell’s earning power. He got $35 million guaranteed from the Jets. Bell sucking is on him.
I know I’m the first one here to say this, but I feel like the franchise tag is being abused. It was created to keep teams from losing their best player. The way it’s being used now, you could eventually reach the point where a team has six or more guys on their roster that were franchise tagged. Now it’s keeping really good players from having a chance to test free agency & maximize their earning potential.
Was saying they should’ve traded him after the season. Would have imagined that could’ve gotten a 2nd a maybe a bit more for him then.
Still have some trade options. BAL, NE, KC, & LAC (Quentin & a pick for Pickens) for winning caliber teams. TEN, LV, & CLE (6 & 70 for 12 & Pickens) as teams that could use WR talent to help their young QBs
Pickens could just sit out after getting a contract, sure, but it was going well for he and the Cowboys for the most part. He’s young and has potential to still grow. Dallas has already committed money to that side of the ball, which makes this extension troublesome, but if they did manage to score a deal, they could use all of their picks on the defense-which will need them for this transition.
If they judge the extension to not be doable for future cap reasons, it seems that by far the most prudent thing to do is try and work a trade…which seems like it could have been timed much better. Could Dallas use Pickens in a draft day move, with a team that has agreed to sign a deal beforehand? Possibly, but you wonder why they’d announce that for sure no deal was coming to the public. They’d have to get some good pick back to make this whole experiment worth their original investment, otherwise it’s just another sideways move. They traded a second for a guy, got good production, and then got rid of him for potentially a lesser pick. It’s hard to beat a second, but if they got that, it could at least be used as extra ammunition this year. If they use Pickens as part of a larger deal to get a high level return, though, that could be a way to move forward instead of sideways, but I do think that they have a valuable asset that they need to use to at least try and beat their original investment if they move on.
We’ll see what they do in this draft to capitalize on the Parsons strategy, which could end up a sideways move if the picks are ultimately used to simply replace Parsons with one rusher instead of adding multiple difference makers. If Dallas decides that they don’t want to extend Pickens, my hope is that they at least try to turn that move into more than one player, instead of just trading him and then using a first on another receiver that they suspect will be as good. Pickens is no guarantee, I think, to stay invested for a year on the tag, if Dallas is making a push this year.
But Jerry extends the kicker.