Cowboys' George Pickens plan unaffected by Jaxon Smith-Njigba deal?

On paper, George Pickens of the Dallas Cowboys received some good news earlier this week when Seattle Seahawks star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba reset the market for players at the position by signing a four-year, $168.6M deal that included $120M guaranteed. 

That contract presumably increased Pickens' price tag for a long-term deal. That said, he's currently set to play on the franchise tag worth around $27.3M for the 2026 season. 

On Tuesday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated suggested that the Smith-Njigba agreement will do little to force the hand of Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones regarding locking Pickens down for longer than a campaign. 

George Pickens' Pittsburgh Steelers past still working against him? 

"I still think there’s the likelihood that George Pickens plays this year out on the one-year tender attached to the franchise tag," Breer wrote. "After everything that happened with the Steelers and the reasons he fell in the draft in 2022, it makes sense to make sure that ’25 was more a sign of real growth than a blip on the radar, before handing him the kind of money that JSN got."

Pickens was repeatedly the subject of unflattering stories while with the Steelers from 2022 through the 2024 season. He caused scenes on the sidelines during games, was allegedly late for at least one contest and reportedly was guilty of a "litany of violations" that caused Pittsburgh to send him to Dallas last spring. 

In his first season with the Cowboys, Pickens performed like an elite playmaker as he tallied 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns over 17 games. However, he reportedly was also fined at least once for "being late to things," was benched for an offensive series after he allegedly missed a team bus and was accused of running lazy routes during a loss. In short, the Cowboys may have reasons to want to keep Pickens in a contract year through next winter. 

One other thing working against George Pickens

A recent update hinted that Puka Nacua and the Los Angeles Rams may not finalize an extension until after the deadline for teams to sign tagged players to multiyear contracts arrives on July 15. A Nacua deal theoretically could have helped further set up Pickens' market, but it seems that the Cowboys may have already decided that the 25-year-old is going to have to accept playing on the tag unless he is willing to forfeit money by sitting through the start of regular-season games.