There’s good and bad news for Cowboys fans and George Pickens.
The good news is that George Pickens will be a Cowboy in 2026. The bad news is that his future beyond that is uncertain.
After Wednesday’s 4 p.m. Eastern deadline passed for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term deals, Pickens will officially play this season on his $27.3 million franchise tender.
Cowboys receiver George Pickens catches a ball during a practice. AP Photo/LM Otero
The Cowboys not giving Pickens an extension before the season was the expectation, as they announced before April’s draft that they wouldn’t be holding talks on a long-term deal yet.
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Pickens also said he was prepared to play the season on the tag.
“Like the tag and all that, it’s just football first,” Pickens told reporters at mandatory minicamp. “So, definitely play football first, kind of like I did last year, and then worry about [the contract]… Well let my agent worry about it, really.”
The Cowboys are no stranger to having stars play a season on the franchise tag, as Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dalton Schultz and Tony Pollard have all played on it since 2015.
Prescott and Lawrence got long-term deals, while Schultz and Pollard left in free agency.
As for Pickens, it’d be a brutal blow if he leaves after 2026.
Cowboys receiver George Pickens holds a ball during practice. Chris Jones-Imagn Images
In his first season with the Cowboys in 2025, the former Steeler had the best year of his career, with career highs in yards (1,429) and touchdowns (nine).
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Before joining the Cowboys, Pickens starred with Pittsburgh, posting 1,140 receiving yards in 2023 and tallying nearly 3,000 receiving yards over three seasons.
In Dallas, he and CeeDee Lamb became one of the league’s best receiver duos with more than 2,500 combined receiving yards.
Even with Pickens’ strong stats last season, the Cowboys limped to a 7-9-1 finish behind one of the league’s worst defenses.
