Cowboys escape familiar offseason headache under Jerry Jones

“The first hurdle was Javonte Williams’ free agency after a breakout year,” Jason Kandel of Landry Hat wrote on July 10. “We’ve seen Jerry butcher negotiations with stars hitting the open market, and we’ve also seen him overpay running backs (see Ezekiel Elliott), but neither of those happened with Javonte.”

Dallas signed running back Javonte Williams to a three-year, $24M contract with an average annual value of $8M (16th highest-paid RB in the NFL).

Moreover, Kandel noted Jones’ “hands-off” approach to hiring new defensive coordinator Christian Parker paid off well. He let head coach Brian Schottenheimer take the lead and simmered down on all the drama.

However, the Cowboys’ biggest challenge came with wide receiver George Pickens’ contract scenario.

The Cowboys stayed firm through George Pickens’ contract saga

Jason Kandel of Landry Hat believes the Cowboys were patient and smart with George Pickens’ contract scenario after he recorded his career- best campaign with receptions (93), receiving yards (1,429), and touchdowns (nine) in 2025.

“Instead of feeling pressured by possible trade speculation after he didn’t sign immediately, the Cowboys stayed patient,” Kandel wrote in the same article. “Made it clear that while a long-term contract with Pickens is a priority, they won’t negotiate an extension this offseason to avoid letting this drag out.”

Pickens is set to play for the Cowboys under the franchise tag ($27.3M) for the 2026 season. The Cowboys executives were firm in their decision not to extend a long-term contract or to trade Pickens.