Cowboys WR George Pickens was franchise-tagged this offseason and will cost $27.3 million for 2026 before needing a new deal. Additionally, WR CeeDee Lamb has three years left on a four-year, $136 million extension with remaining cap hits of $19.2 million, $46.1 million and $25.9 million.
Dallas EVP Stephen Jones was asked about the team’s salary cap situation next season during a recent interview on the DLLS Cowboys podcast. He admitted paying two high-end receivers like they are doing this year is rare, and said repeating it going forward will be a “bigger challenge” if both have strong years.
“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. “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.”
Jones spoke on Pickens specifically, saying another season like 2025 will put pressure on them to get financially creative to keep him long term.
“George is really wanting to put back-to-back years on top of one another so it’ll help his market,” Jones added on Pickens. “And certainly, I know at some point — as does every player in this league — will want to be rewarded with a long-term contract. So that certainly puts pressure on us to have a unique situation there at wide receiver.”
Pickens, 25, was a preseason All-American second-team selection in 2021 and a second-team preseason All-SEC at Georgia. The Steelers used the No. 52 overall pick on him in the 2022 NFL Draft.
He was in the final year of a four-year $6,752,177 rookie contract that included a $2,090,674 signing bonus when he was traded to the Cowboys after the draft for a future third-round pick.
Dallas franchised Pickens at a sum of $27.298 million fully guaranteed for the 2026 season.
In 2025, Pickens appeared in all 17 games for the Cowboys and caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.
We’ll have more on Pickens and the Cowboys as the news becomes available.
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