George

Pickens

All signs have pointed to the Cowboys tagging Pickens before the deadline to do so, but whether that results in him staying with the team on a long-term deal remains in question. Jones said the team thinks “the world” of Pickens and wants him to stay a Cowboy, but declined to comment on when an extension could get done. Pickens enjoyed a career year in 2025, catching 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns — all career-highs. His pairing with CeeDee Lamb made for one of the most dynamic receiver duos in the league, but for the right price, it’s possible the Cowboys opt to tag and then trade Pickens for draft picks to improve their roster elsewhere. We’ll have a better sense on where things are headed after Pickens is tagged, but things could be setting up for a long offseason of negotiations.

The Cowboys are currently expected to use the franchise tag on Pickens. While a tag-and-trade scenario is possible, Watkins adds that “both sides have mutual interest in the star receiver returning.” Star players have had contentious negotiations with the Cowboys’ front office in recent seasons, including QB Dak Prescott, WR CeeDee Lamb and EDGE Micah Parsons, who was ultimately traded to the Packers. A speedy resolution would allow Pickens to join his teammates for offseason training without injury-related contract concerns looming overhead. And a more typical Cowboys resolution would leave us questioning if Pickens will even be on the team in August, putting a black cloud over his potential fantasy value.

Rapoport previously suggested a tag-and-trade scenario is possible. This time, he notes that the Cowboys acquired him for a third-round pick, so sending him away for a second would be a nice value increase. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo also believes the Cowboys will franchise tag Pickens, but made it a point to express consternation over the idea of then trading him away if the Cowboys’ goal is to one day win a Super Bowl.

“A tag-and-trade scenario is considered to be a possibility for Dallas” this offseason, Rapoport reports. It makes all the sense in the world for Dallas given how they rehabilitated Pickens’ value this offseason and how the current state of their salary cap is. It would be much easier to do the work on the defensive side of the ball with extra money from not keeping Pickens. Of course, that relies on the Cowboys to be excited about a young receiver in the draft, or perhaps with elevating Ryan Flournoy to a bigger role. We wouldn’t count on this to happen, but a Pickens tag-and-trade definitely is a plausible scenario for how this unfolds.

This has been our lean for a while, too, but it’s interesting Schefter’s sources are already confirming so at this early stage of the offseason. The tag window opens Feb. 17 and closes March 3. The sides would then have until mid-July to negotiate a long-term deal. The tag would guarantee Pickens roughly $28 million. Although the 25-year-old (next month) surely won’t mind the monster one-year payday, he will undoubtedly view this as his best chance at a mega long-term deal. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has claimed he desires the same outcome, but Dallas has become as bad as any team at negotiating long-term deals. A mercurial player like Pickens playing on a one-year pact would have the potential to end poorly for both parties. It’s definitely one of the offseason’s top early storylines.

Jones adds that he wants Pickens to be a Cowboy for “a long time.” We have no doubt this is true, but the Cowboys’ recent contract negotiations with their star players have been volatile, to say the least. In 2024, the front office signed CeeDee Lamb to an extension on August 27th, and waited until mere hours before the Cowboys’ Week 1 game against the Browns to sign Dak Prescott to an extension. Contract talks with Micah Parsons soured to the point that he ended up being traded. A report from NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk notes that the Cowboys will likely use the franchise tag on Pickens, an impending free agent, “which will buy the sides time to negotiate a long-term deal.”

The Dallas starters only played the first half, but Dak Prescott targeted Pickens twice in the end zone to try and get him his tenth touchdown of the season; yet, the two were unable to connect. Pickens’ first season in Dallas comes to an end, and it was by far his best season as a pro. He set career-highs in catches, targets, receiving yards, and touchdowns by posting 93 catches on 137 targets for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns in 17 games (15 starts) and also making the Pro Bowl. He also dealt with some off-field shenanigans and had his effort questioned in late-season games, so we got the full George Pickens experience. Entering his age-25 season in 2026, Pickens should command a hefty free agent contract this offseason. If he lands in another pass-friendly offense as a primary threat, he could be a fantasy WR1 in 2026.

Quarterback Dak Prescott completed only 19-of-37 passes while taking six sacks against a Commanders defense that rose to the occasion, with Pickens checking in third on the team in targets behind alpha CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Tolbert. It was a disappointing end to the enigmatic receiver’s fantasy season after erupting for 130 yards and a score against the Chargers a week ago. Pickens played the 2025 season on the final year of his contract and could be the source of significant contractual drama this offseason.

Pickens’ big blow was a 38-yard go ball touchdown from Dak Prescott to put the Cowboys at 17 points. It happened in the second quarter. And yet, those would be the final points Dallas would score. Clearly doubled at times in the red zone, the Chargers were willing to get beat elsewhere. Pickens had some incredible downfield catches, including a fourth-down conversion early in the game. He’ll be on the WR1 line against the Commanders in Week 17.

Pickens was hammered by the media throughout the week after his effort level was called into question in the team’s Week 14 loss to the Lions, with those same tendencies rearing their head against the Vikings. He was seen giving up on the route at least once and was hardly a contributor to the run game, routinely running at half speed off the line on called rush attempts. He even walked off the line on one occasion. Pickens’ talent has never been in question but putting mental lapses like this on film is surely going to influence offseason contract discussions, even with his eruption on the field through the middle parts of the season.