Among those who follow the Dallas Cowboys faithfully, and perhaps among the team’s coaches and decision-makers, there is some angst about what, exactly, is going to happen with star receiver George Pickens. It’s been a month-and-a-half since the Cowboys put the franchise tag for 2026 on Pickens, ensuring a one-year, $27 million contract, but speculation continues to swirl that Pickens wants a bigger, long-term deal to stick with the team.
Spotrac projects Pickens’ market value at $30.6 million per year, projecting him worthy of a four-year contract for $122 million. Other speculation has him seeking a deal worth more like what fellow star Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb is getting, at $34 million per year. And there’s been plenty of chatter about Pickens sitting out training camp and part of the offseason until he gets a new deal.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has weighed in on Pickens’ situation, as has team owner Jerry Jones, coach Brian Schottenheimer, legendary Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith and ex-Steeler Le’Veon Bell, who did hold out for a full year rather than sign a franchise tag contract. But one guy who has not weighed in on the situation has been George Pickens himself.
George Pickens: ‘Another Movie’
In fact, we have not heard much from Pickens at all this offseason, at least not until this week, when he was the subject of an Instagram video in which it looks like the last thing on his mind is his next Cowboys contract. In the video, which starts with Pickens saying, “Just living life, man, God bless America,” the star receiver is shown on vacation, apparently in St. Maarten, playing tennis, pool and some basketball.
At the end of the video, Pickens says, “Definitely Year 5 gonna be another movie.”
That’s not exactly a firm declaration that he will sign the franchise tag contract, or that he will show up for training camp. But it is a clear indication that Pickens will be on the field in 2026, presumably for the Cowboys.
HeavyCowboys star George Pickens via his Instagram movie (1.issue)
George Pickens Had a Breakout for the Cowboys
The hope for Year 5 is that Pickens can repeat what he did in Year 4, when he put behind him some of the disappointments and underachieving that had come about in Years 1-3 while he was in Pittsburgh. The Cowboys traded for Pickens last spring, and came away with a major win in the deal, as Pickens went for a career-high 93 catches for 1,429 yards, which was third in the NFL.
Now, though, comes the all-too-familiar Cowboys star drama, in which the team plays hardball and risks a holdout. Pickens is not expected to report to the team’s voluntary offseason program, though it can’t be ruled out that he will just sign the franchise tag and rejoin the team quickly.
Cowboys Hoping for Franchise Tag Signature
That is what the Cowboys are hoping for, and even if it does not unfold that way, the team has shown no sign of even negotiating with Pickens on a new deal. Dallas, for now at least, is approaching the tag contract as the team’s final Pickens offer.
Prescott, back in February, pointed out that he had played on the franchise tag, in 2020, and got a record-breaking contract even after breaking his leg that season. “You played last year on a one-year, whatever it was,” Prescott said. “So if you can go one year for $30-whatever-it-is million, it’s the same thing I got when I franchised. hey, go do it. Bet on yourself.”
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