It was reported over the weekend that the Dallas Cowboys plan to place the franchise tag on free agent wide receiver George Pickens. In related news, the sun will come up tomorrow, and the Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl in 30 years.
It's certainly possible that Pickens ends up playing on the tag in 2026, but in a perfect world, it ends up being a placeholder for the start of negotiations. The way Dallas' decision-makers have spoken about Pickens makes it clear that a long-term extension is the ultimate goal.
Or is it? Reporting on NFL Game Day Morning, insider Ian Rapoport said he wouldn't rule out the Cowboys trading Pickens after tagging him.
"The Cowboys have shown a willingness to trade their star players for significant draft pick compensation," Rapoport said. "Maybe those players have the same agent in David Mulugheta. I'm just saying, it's an interesting situation to consider."
Ian Rapoport thinks the Dallas Cowboys could trade George Pickens this offseason
Wait, what?
For starters, the Cowboys historically have not shown a willingness to trade star players. Quite the opposite, actually. Jerry Jones typically never lets star players out of the building.
The Micah Parsons trade was an extreme outlier to how Jones operates. He had zero intention of trading Parsons until negotiations became personal and the relationship reached a point of no return.
Jones' relationship with David Mulugheta is just fine, and Pickens isn't nearly as outspoken as Parsons. The All-Pro receiver has said all of the right things when asked about his upcoming free agency, and there is nothing to suggest that's going to change.
The franchise tag also exists to limit Pickens’ leverage and free-agent options. That's a significant factor in all of this.
The only sound argument for trading Pickens is that it would free up some money to upgrade the defense. The Cowboys will be $29.2 million over the salary cap when the new league year begins. However, the Joneses can create over $90 million in cap room without breaking a sweat.
The counter to trading Pickens is obvious. The offense reached a consistently elite level with him in the fold, and his presence unlocked the best version of Dak Prescott, the franchise’s single most important player. If the defense even mildly regresses to the mean after an all-time bad year, Dallas could be among the NFL's most dangerous teams.
Jerry Jones has praised Pickens at every turn, and he clearly feels the urgency to win after wasting yet another year of Dak Prescott’s prime. While the Parsons trade proved that almost anything is possible, we’re confident Dallas will not be trading Pickens this offseason.