The Dallas Cowboys faced a roadblock when CeeDee Lamb got injured, but then George Pickens stepped in and stole the spotlight. Now the tough part is here: deciding what to do when Pickens’ rookie contract expires after this season. Will Jerry Jones extend him, tag him, or let him walk away as a free agent?
When the Cowboys traded for Pickens earlier this year, it seemed like a savvy move. They gave up a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Plus, they received a sixth-rounder in return and the final year of his rookie deal.
At $3.65 million, the price was right. But Pickens quickly made it clear he’s far more than a bargain find. In the past five games, Pickens has six touchdowns. And his nine catches for 168 yards and a touchdown in the recent loss to the Carolina Panthers made one thing obvious: he’s earning every penny of his next contract.
The Cowboys must decide whether to extend Pickens, slap a franchise tag on him, or let him walk when his rookie deal expires. He’s going to want a contract north of $30 million annually. The franchise tag for wide receivers in 2026 will be more than $25 million. That’s a lot, especially alongside Lamb’s $34 million per year.
Trading Pickens before the deadline is a possibility some insiders whisper about. But from a strategic angle, tagging and trading him early next year might make more sense. That way, Dallas benefits from his strong play the rest of this season, pushing his trade value even higher.
The better he plays, the tougher it gets for Jerry Jones and the Cowboys to hold onto him. And just like with the Micah Parsons trade, negotiations will be tricky. That’s because Pickens’ agent, David Mulugheta, is hard to outmaneuver. This makes the whole situation more complicated for the Cowboys.
Jerry Jones faces a tough financial call
Jerry Jones doesn’t shy away from the tough questions. On a recent radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, he addressed the rumors head-on about extending Pickens. “We are always looking at what we can do to basically financially improve where we are,” Jones said. “Now, you don’t financially improve without getting what you paid for. That’s a misnomer.”
JJ made it clear that any big payout has to be backed by the right players and real talent. “I know you say, ‘Well, duh, that was assumed in the question.’ Well, the point is that we’ll look carefully at what we’re doing financially, look carefully at what we do there with George.”
The owner went on to praise Pickens not just for his on-field firepower but for the intangibles too. “I can’t tell you how proud I am personally for George because he is absolutely as exciting as he’s been on the field for us. He’s been that kind of teammate, and he’s inspirational,” Jones added, tagging on that Pickens’ earlier ‘personality issues’ are now one of the qualities he appreciates most.
But here’s the rub: Dallas’s defense is a disaster. Dead last in yards allowed (411.7) and second-to-last in points allowed (30.7). The Cowboys’ defense can’t carry the team the way a strong supporting cast should. That puts additional pressure on the offense and thus on receiving options like Pickens.
Jerry Jones knows all this. One wrong move financially, and the Cowboys could be stuck in the NFL’s no-man’s land: paying big bucks with no defense or losing a key weapon on offense. Either way, Jerry’s got a tough call to make.
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