Cowboys
Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones confirmed that the team expects WR George Pickens to play under the franchise tag next season.
“We’ve made a decision that we’re going to have George Pickens play under the franchise tag, which won’t be a first for us. So there won’t be negotiations on a long-term deal,” Jones said, via Around The NFL. “That’s certainly not a first for this organization and certainly won’t be a first in the league in terms of this decision as we move forward. Whether it’s Dak Prescott, who played under one and got tagged a second time, whether it’s D-Law (edge rusher Demarcus Lawrence), whether it’s (running back) Tony Pollard, we’ve certainly had those situations. We’re fired up to have George on this football team. Obviously, he’s been here for a year. We gave up a third-round pick. Certainly, he’s made tremendous progress in the year that he’s been here. I think he’d be the first to tell you that this is a great situation for him, playing with (receiver) CeeDee (Lamb) and Dak and coach (Brian) Schottenheimer’s offense. I think he loves coach Schottenheimer and what he brings to the table. But certainly, a conscious decision that we’d make.”
Jones added that it’s hard to commit financially to two top-flight receivers due to cap purposes.
“It’s not easy having two receivers being paid top of the market,” Jones said. “That’s obviously a stretch, especially when you have other great players on your team, a quarterback that’s been here being the highest-paid player in this league for many years now. Certainly, that’s part of it. The other thing is the newness of George being here. I think George has just done an amazing job. He’s exceeded all expectations. … So that’s a plus. A lot of these things, they make their way toward a long-term deal, but that’s the biggest part of it. Between the business and the newness of it, I think that’s a big part of it.”
Jones added that the team is going best player available, even if that means drafting another receiver.
“That’s all part of a global picture. … Certainly, you’re always looking at that,” Jones said of potentially selecting a receiver in the 2026 draft. “It’s just like we did when we took CeeDee Lamb. We had some really good receivers on this team, but we took him. Certainly, it’d be no different if we look at the board and our number gets called to pick and we’ll make that decision at that point. But we’re certainly not opposed to taking the best player on our board. That’s usually where we’ve had our most success is doing that.”
Eagles
There are serious questions about A.J. Brown‘s future with the Eagles going into 2026. When appearing on 6ABC, former C Jason Kelce stood behind Brown, saying the receiver was always a great teammate and that whatever frustrations he has with the organization may be justified.
“I know AJ personally. I played with him, he’s an awesome teammate. He’s an incredibly talented player. At the same time, you’ve seen the frustrations over the last couple years. I don’t know where he’s at or where the team is. Everything gets to a point where it’s gonna come to an end and maybe it’s at the point,” Kelce said. “AJ has clearly been frustrated and sometimes that frustrates the fans, but one thing I do find unique is that the players really haven’t manifested in a negative way towards AJ, which lends me to think that a lot of people understand AJ’s frustrations. I think AJ is a great player where if he is moved, the Eagles will miss him. He’s not the reason the offense wasn’t good last year.”
Giants
- Jordan Raanan of ESPN reports veteran WR Odell Beckham Jr. was “impressive” in his workout with the Giants, and he “ran really well.”
- Raanan notes that Beckham could be someone to watch for New York after the conclusion of the 2026 NFL Draft.
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