Have Cowboys already made decision on George Pickens?

A report from earlier in November revealed that "there's a strong likelihood that the" Dallas Cowboys will use the franchise tag to retain the rights for wide receiver George Pickens through 2026, "assuming they remain as happy with him by the end of the season as they've been so far." 

It appears the Cowboys are still quite happy with Pickens despite a recent incident. 

Will Cowboys allow George Pickens to reach free agency? 

"The Cowboys have no plans of allowing him to play elsewhere in 2026," Jon Machota of The Athletic said about Pickens for a piece published on Tuesday. 

Pickens is in the final year of his contract and has said that he would "love to" stay with the Cowboys. Dallas handed WR1 CeeDee Lamb a four-year, $136M deal in August 2024, but he missed time earlier this season because of an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Pickens has emerged as the top weapon for Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott since Week 1. 

As shared by ESPN, Pickens leads all Dallas players with 67 receptions, 92 targets and eight touchdown catches on the season. Only Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks recorded more receiving yards (1,313) than Pickens (1,054) over the campaign's first 12 weeks. 

What history says about George Pickens' short-term future

"Players of Pickens' caliber don't hit free agency," ESPN's Ben Solak mentioned in a different article posted on Tuesday. "...If Pickens actually hits free agency and changes teams, we will have never seen anything like it. The largest wide receiver free agent signing in history is the Titans' deal for Calvin Ridley, who signed a four-year, $92M deal to go from Jacksonville to Tennessee. That deal was signed in March 2024, when Ridley was 29 years old. He had produced two 1,000-yard seasons in five active years (he missed a sixth in 2022 for a gambling suspension). Pickens will hit free agency at 25 with two 1,000-yard seasons under his belt."

Pickens has not publicly said whether or not he would play for the Cowboys on the one-year franchise tag that is expected to be worth around $28M. It's also unclear what different teams may be willing to give up for his services during the upcoming offseason. 

"There are off-field concerns," Solak added about Pickens. Specifically, Pickens caused numerous headaches for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2022 through the 2024 season. More recently, he and Lamb were benched for Dallas' first offensive series versus the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 17 after they missed a Sunday curfew. 

Pickens will look to produce another stellar performance when the 5-5-1 Cowboys host the 6-5 Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving. As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had Dallas as a 3.5-point home underdog for that game.