Stephen Jones On George Pickens’ Future

The decision to tag Pickens was an easy one for Dallas after the ex-Steeler broke out in his first year as a Cowboy.

At the cost of a 2026 third-round pick and a ’27 fifth-rounder, Pickens gave the Cowboys 93 catches, 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns over the third full season of his career. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder ranked top 10 in the league in those categories as well as targets (137) and receptions of 20-plus yards (22). He earned his first Pro Bowl invitation and a second-team All-Pro selection as a result.

Pickens made a case for a lucrative extension during an elite-caliber season, but the Cowboys never seemed particularly interested in giving him one after they tagged him. Executive vice president Stephen Jones publicly shut down negotiations on April 22 and announced Pickens would play under the tag. Pickens signed his franchise tag the next day, which made him eligible for a trade. Jones quickly dismissed trade speculation, saying the team had “zero intention” of dealing Pickens. Doing so would have broken up the excellent receiver tandem of Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, one of the league’s highest-paid wideouts.

The Cowboys kept Lamb in the fold through 2028 on the four-year, $136MM extension they awarded him in 2024. Pickens has made it known he is eyeing his own top-of-the-market contract in 2027. However, the 25-year-old may have difficulty getting one from Dallas. Appearing on the DLLS Cowboys podcast this week, Jones admitted that the team could have trouble giving elite-caliber extensions to two receivers.

“I don’t know of any teams that really can pay two top receivers top of the market, so that’s gonna be a real difficult situation as we move forward,” Jones said (via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk). “We’ve managed to figure out how we can do it for this year. If everything works out the way we think it is, [in] which CeeDee and George both have huge years again, then it’ll be a bigger challenge next year.”

Lamb is one of six receivers averaging between $34MM and $42.15MM per year. With the cap continuing to rise, Pickens will have an argument to join the group if he posts production similar to last year’s output. Nobody is spending more on receivers than the Bengals, who have Ja’Marr Chase on a four-year, $161MM pact and Tee Higgins on a five-year, $115MM extension, but the Cowboys may have to go by them if they want to retain Pickens for the long haul. Otherwise, they could either place the franchise tag on Pickens again at an increased cost ($32.76MM) or let someone else pay him in free agency.