Things appear to be settling down around the Dallas Cowboys and wide receiver George Pickens. Cowboys executive Stephen Jones told reporters just before the 2026 NFL Draft that they wouldn’t negotiate a long-term deal with Pickens this offseason.
Pickens, though, quickly signed the franchise tag tender. That means he has agreed to play the 2026 campaign on a 1-year deal worth roughly $27 million.
But CBS Sports’s Bryan DeArdo still doesn’t see the receiver as pleased with the contract. DeArdo actually feels so strongly about that that on Sunday, he named the Cowboys trading Pickens as one of the ten post-NFL Draft moves that need to happen.
“Dallas already said that Pickens will play under the franchise tag, which appears to be a recipe for disaster given his history of self-sabotage when things don’t go his way. If the Cowboys want to avoid another drama-filled season, they would be better served either giving Pickens a long-term deal or trading him to a team that will,” wrote DeArdo.
“The more realistic scenario appears to be the Cowboys trading Pickens, whose production during his first four seasons has largely been overshadowed by his antics.”
Would the Cowboys Really Still Trade George Pickens?
Pickens wasn’t the absolute perfect soldier for the Cowboys during the 2025 NFL season. There were still rumblings about the playmaker being late for team buses and things of that nature.
But in Dallas, Pickens didn’t cause the same drama as he did with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That was presumably the case because he was happier with his role in the Cowboys offense than he ever was in Pittsburgh.
While he returned to being a WR2 with the Cowboys, Pickens had Dak Prescott throwing him passes. CeeDee Lamb also took a lot of pressure, and elite coverage, away from Pickens.
That helped the former second-round pick become a second-team All-Pro receiver. In 2025, he posted a career-best 93 catches, 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
With the 2026 NFL Draft now in the rear-view mirror, the Cowboys won’t have an opportunity to replace that production immediately should they trade Pickens. Dallas is also not a place that’s unaccustomed to drama.
For those reasons, the Cowboys appear to see Pickens playing on the franchise tag as the best option.
Potential Pickens Trade Destinations
There is another even more obvious reason the Cowboys and Pickens are destined to be together on the franchise tag next season.
DeArdo argued Dallas “would have options” if it pursued a Pickens trade. However, that might not be the case.
Stephen Jones said during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan on April 14 that the Cowboys “had no one call with interest” in trading for Pickens.
That would explain why the Cowboys felt emboldened in their decision to not negotiate a long-term deal with Pickens. It would also explain why the receiver so quickly signed the tender.
The receiver doesn’t have any other choice besides sitting out the 2026 campaign.
That would be detrimental to Pickens’s career for multiple reasons. Playing on the franchise tag isn’t very appealing. But that’s a better choice than not playing at all.
After all, the tag is worth $27 million.
Pickens will get a big payday at some point. It might not come from the Cowboys, and it won’t be this year. But the Pickens situation has stabilized itself enough that the team should feel confident about keeping the receiver on the tag in 2026.
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