The Dallas Cowboys have made two things clear about George Pickens.
First, they want to keep him long-term and have no intention of trading him, even as the Miami Dolphins’ haul for Jaylen Waddle makes that idea tempting. Second, they’re comfortable letting him play on the franchise tag next season.
Anything is possible with Jerry Jones flying the plane, but reading the tea leaves, it would be more surprising than not if Pickens and the Cowboys agree to an extension.
Former All-Pro running back Le'Veon Bell went on Michael Irvin's podcast, The White House with Michael Irvin, and said he believes that playing on the tag is in Pickens' best interest anyway (h/t Brandon Loree, Blogging The Boys).
“If I'm George, I think I play on the tag in hopes of trying to get a deal worked out. I think they do make a deal eventually because they got CeeDee Lamb, too. I think if the Cowboys want to get back to being the Cowboys -- get to the Super Bowl -- they need to keep their weapons.”
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones loves franchise-tagging star players
That sounds like it came straight from Jerry Jones, who is a big proponent of allowing star players to bet on themselves.
That the Cowboys let Dak Prescott play on the franchise tag in 2020 remains baffling. They tagged him for a second straight year the following offseason before finally signing him to a long-term extension.
While Prescott is the most notable example, Jerry Jones’ history of using the tag extends well beyond the quarterback position.
The same exact process played out with DeMarcus Lawrence in 2018 and 2019. The second tag actually made Lawrence the highest-paid edge defender in the NFL, but that was short-lived, as he signed a five-year, $105 million extension just one month later.
More recently, Jones had running back Tony Pollard play on the franchise tag in 2023 and tight end Dalton Schultz in 2022. Neither situation ended with a long-term deal, as both players departed in free agency the following offseason. Cowboys fans hope the same fate doesn’t await Pickens.
If there was ever a like-for-like comparison, it's probably Dez Bryant in 2015.
Incredibly, Bryant was fresh off a first-team All-Pro season when the Cowboys tagged him. Bryant staged a holdout before he and Dallas announced a five-year, $70 million deal right before the negotiating deadline for tagged players.
Pickens was a second-team All-Pro in 2025, and it's already been reported that he won't report to the offseason program without a new contract. His negotiation is almost identical to Bryant's so far.
The hope is that they have a similar resolution, but the Joneses don’t sound particularly motivated to get a deal done.