The George Pickens situation is going to quickly snowball into one gigantic disaster, isn't it?
Hey, don't rush into calling this hyperbole. We're talking about the Dallas Cowboys. You know, Jerry and Stephen Jones? Those guys?
Speaking of the Jones's, Cowboys media got a chance to hear from them in a pre-draft press conference Wednesday. And, let's just say fans have plenty to talk about afterwards.
In speaking with the media, Stephen Jones made it clear that the Cowboys are making Pickens play on his franchise tag and will not give him a long-term deal.
Alrighty then. That's enough to unpack as it is, but he wasn't finished.
Dallas Cowboys fans now have more questions than ever about wide receiver George Pickens' future
According to Jane Slater, who personally spoke to Stephen Jones, there are a few other things at play.
First and foremost, Pickens has yet to sign his franchise tag.
Off to a great start, here, aren't we?
Secondly, and again, there will not be discussions about a long-term deal. Jones reminded Slater about the Demarcus Lawrence and Dak Prescott situations of the past in order to justify this stance.
And finally, he said that the Cowboys will not rule out selecting a wide receiver in the 2026 NFL Draft while alluding to the time they drafted CeeDee Lamb six years ago.
All of this just continues to cast more doubt around the Cowboys' front office as a whole; as if they were ever easy to trust to begin with.
We've seen this movie before. Jerry has every ability to screw up these contract situations and, now, he's effectively ended the Pickens situation with over two months of time remaining. They're not even going to hold contract negotiations with Pickens, and the deadline to sign a long-term deal isn't until July!
Just think about that for a second.
Plenty of folks might have different opinions, but the sense I get is that the Cowboys are not committed to Pickens, long-term. And that's quite odd after they made a trade to go out and get him just one short year ago.
Why would the Cowboys make a huge splash like trading for Pickens only to dump him two years later?
Sure, "dump" might be a little strong. But, that's sort of how this feels.
If Pickens doesn't sign a long-term deal this year, I don't see a world where the Cowboys franchise tag him again in 2027. Do they think putting negotiations off a year is going to settle well with Pickens and his camp? Is he willing to be patient and wait a year before getting a long-term deal?
Heck... are the Cowboys even going to want to work out a long-term deal with Pickens in 2027?
The fact that they aren't ruling out a wide receiver in the first round this year sure makes it sound like they don't want to pay him.
After all the talk about potentially paying both Lamb and Pickens, it doesn't appear likely that they'll do so.
And, although the tone here has been largely negative and sarcastic, let's give credit where credit is due. If the Cowboys decide not to pay Pickens on a long-term deal, that's probably the wise move. Investing into that defense and also possibly going with a rookie wide receiver in the first round is going to pay off, financially, if we're being honest.
The main point still stands, though. This fan base has no reason to trust Jerry and/or Stephen Jones. Period.
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