As Kevin Patra of the NFL’s web site famous, the Dallas Cowboys and extensive receiver George Pickens seemingly have an settlement labored out forward of Wednesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline for groups to signal tagged gamers to multiyear contracts.
The Cowboys will neither commerce Pickens nor will they signal him to an extension, and he will play for the group on the franchise tag value roughly $27.3M for the 2026 season.
Throughout Wednesday’s version of ESPN’s “Get Up” program, former NFL participant, govt and present analyst Louis Riddick suggested that Pickens and the Cowboys will not prolong their working relationship past the upcoming marketing campaign.
Will Cowboys let George Pickens stroll after 2026 season?
“This seems like a scenario that’s establishing for 2026 to be George’s final season [with the Cowboys],” Riddick defined. “George sort of realizes that. And that is why he mentioned, ‘Hey, look, you understand what? I am gonna signal the tender right here and simply sort of rip it up this 12 months, and then let the chips fall the place they could within the offseason in 2027. There’s actually no different manner to have a look at it.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly grew uninterested in Pickens’ alleged antics after the 2022 second-round draft decide spent the primary three campaigns of his professional profession with the AFC North membership. Pittsburgh then traded Pickens to Dallas within the spring of 2025, and he recorded 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns final season.
Nonetheless, Pickens was reportedly fined by the Cowboys not less than as soon as final fall for “being late to issues.” He was additionally accused of trying “tired of taking part in soccer” on a number of events through the 2025 season.
Cowboys need George Pickens “hungry” and in a contract 12 months?
“They really feel as if the perfect model of George Pickens is the one that’s hungry and making an attempt to safe long-term monetary stability within the type of a long-term contract,” Riddick mentioned in regards to the Cowboys. “And they’re simply not comfy going forward and giving him monetary safety and signing him to a long-term deal. And look, I imply, I assume you need to perceive the place Dallas is coming from with this. They’ve extra data than anybody else. They’re those who had been with him each single day final 12 months. …They’re simply not comfy going forward and giving him the assured cash that he most likely will get on the open market from some soccer group.”
The Cowboys reportedly may afford to retain Pickens’ rights for 2027 through the franchise tag and likewise preserve presumed WR1 CeeDee Lamb on their roster. In fact, it is too early to know if Cowboys proprietor and common supervisor Jerry Jones will need to go down such a highway subsequent offseason.
