It's fair to say the Dallas Cowboys weren't universally praised when they traded for George Pickens over the offseason. A lot of that boiled down to Pickens effectively giving up on a future with the Steelers, and the Pittsburgh media overdramatized his character concerns.
Pickens absolutely deserves to wear some of that. He gave Pittsburgh no other choice but to move on, but he's been a breath of fresh air off the field since touching down in Dallas. Now, Jerry Jones and the front office must decide whether to pay him after the 2025 season.
An argument can be made for extending him or letting him walk, but what Pickens wants matters, too, and it sounds like he's open to committing to the Cowboys.
"I wouldn’t mind it," Pickens said about staying in Dallas long term. "The guys in the locker room are super cool, the energy is great. I always want to showcase my talents."
It sure sounds like George Pickens want to sign an extension with the Cowboys
Jerry Jones has predictably already tried to explain the conundrum of paying two top wide receivers. But make no mistake: it can be done.
The Eagles (A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith), Lions (Amon-Ra St. Brown), Bengals (Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins), and Dolphins (Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle) all pay two WRs more than $20 million per year. The former three teams are all contenders - when Joe Burrow is healthy in the Bengals' case - with Philadelphia and Detroit representing two of the most consistent teams the NFL has to offer.
There's an argument to be made that the Cowboys shouldn't sign Pickens and spend most of that money rebuilding the defense. That would require Jerry Jones to actually spend money in free agency, however. And, despite what Jones says to the media, Dallas can afford to sign Pickens and bring in multiple defenders via free agency with the money saved from trading Micah Parsons.
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The most important factor in all of this is Dak Prescott, who is playing the best football of his career. Yes, the Cowboys need a better defense to be able to compete with Prescott, but that can be done without sacrificing Pickens. It's pretty clear after six games that Pickens and Prescott's skill sets are a perfect match.
The Cowboys will be able to "contend" so long as they have an elite offense and even an average defense. And the defense can't get worse than what we've seen this season. You have to think it will be much improved, even if it isn't elite, after an offseason investing significant resources into it.
Jerry Jones would never live it down if he didn't sign Pickens after trading Parsons. You can't brag about all the money you saved by trading Parsons, then turn around and let a star player walk in free agency.
Pay Pickens what he deserves and prosper.