George Pickens receives harsh trade-reality update after franchise-tag deadline passes

As had been expected, Wednesday's deadline for NFL teams to sign tagged players to multiyear contracts came and went without the Dallas Cowboys and wide receiver George Pickens agreeing to an extension. 

While Pickens previously confirmed that he will play for the Cowboys on the franchise tag worth roughly $27.3M for the 2026 season, Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report recently suggested that Pickens could still request a trade at some point. On Thursday morning, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk shared why "the practical window for trading Pickens" closed on Wednesday.  

Why it no longer makes sense for teams to kick the tires on a George Pickens trade

"If Pickens were traded," Florio wrote, "the new team would step into the Cowboys’ shoes. There could be no long-term deal until the end of the regular season. The new team would be trading for a one-year, $27.3M contract and the ability to sign him after Week 18 — or to tag him again in 2027, at a price tag of $32.76M. ...It’s not ideal to the relationship to acquire Pickens with the intention to tag him again, even if the Cowboys quite possibly intend to do just that."

The Cowboys clearly have no intention of selling Pickens for pennies on the dollar, as they expect to compete for more than just a playoff berth this season. Meanwhile, Pickens unofficially confirmed this past spring that he won't hold out when he signed his franchise tag. He then reported for mandatory minicamp in June. 

Cowboys have millions of reasons to keep George Pickens on the franchise tag

"Now that the team trading for Pickens couldn’t extend his contract, it makes no sense for anyone to even try [to trade for him]," Florio added. "So the can gets kicked into January. And don’t be shocked if the Cowboys try to drag their feet again, given that next year’s tag will still be $10M below the current bar set by Jaxon Smith-Njigba."

Of course, it's far too early for one to guess how strong or weak the relationship involving Pickens and Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones will be come February 2027. For now, Pickens seemingly has accepted that he will remain a Dallas player at least until the team plays its final game of the 2026 season.