The expectation as of now is that the Cowboys will use the franchise tag on WR George Pickens to give them more time to work out a long-term deal or a trade.
Cowboys co-owner Stephen Jones tells Watkins that that they want Pickens to be in attendance for the offseason program if they franchise him.
“We always want guys here,” Jones said. “We’ve franchised players before, obviously we want him here working with the team. It will work itself out in the coming weeks.”
Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports that there’s a “strong possibility” that Pickens will not report to the Cowboys’ offseason program. as the team engages in contract talks with his agents.
Watkins mentions that both the Cowboys and Pickens have mutual interest in him returning to Dallas. However, a long-term extension could run them upwards of $30 million per year.
OverTheCap.com valued Pickens’ 2025 season at $31,681,000, and they project the franchise tag for receivers to cost $28,824,000.
Pickens, 24, 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’s 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.
In 2025, Pickens appeared in all 17 games for the Cowboys and caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.
We have him included in our Top 100 – 2026 NFL Free Agents.
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