George Pickens Says He Will Play On Franchise Tag

Per Jon Machota, Cowboys WR George Pickens said he doesn’t plan on holding out, meaning he will play the 2026 season on the franchise tag. 

Pickens also said his absence in voluntary OTAs was because he was listening to his agent, per Machota. He talked about winning being the main priority this year over anything else. 

“What’s important to me is winning. Like I said from the beginning, I always wanna bring a Super Bowl to a group of guys that never had that feeling. That’s really the most important part to me,” Pickens said.

Dallas franchised Pickens at a figure of $27.298 million fully guaranteed for the 2026 season, and owner Jerry Jones said they have “zero interest” in trading the star 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.