Last offseason, the Dallas Cowboys made a splash move for their offense by acquiring wide receiver George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Despite his best season yet, the team did not reach an agreement on a new contract extension, opting instead to franchise-tag Pickens. Even though Jerry Jones views him as a long-term piece, he isn’t sure if the receiver will attend offseason workouts.
What Jerry Jones Said About George Pickens’ Possible Absence
In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Steelers selected Pickens out of Georgia with the 52nd overall pick in the second round. After three productive seasons in Pittsburgh, he was traded to Dallas for a third- and fifth-round pick.
Pickens was originally meant to be a second receiving option behind All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, but after the latter missed a few games, Pickens flashed WR1 potential and continued to do so once Lamb returned.
In 17 games, Pickens had 93 receptions for 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. These were all career highs for Pickens, who was also named to the Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro. In PFSN’s NFL WR Impact Metrics, he ranked as the third-best receiver with an impact score of 88.4 and a letter grade of B+.
2025 was the last year on Pickens’ rookie contract, and before he had the chance to hit free agency, Jones and the Cowboys franchise tagged him. So, for one year, he’ll be making $27,298,000.
However, athletes dislike the franchise tag because, instead of a potential long-term deal, it forces them to risk their future earnings without long-term security. Athletes also tend to sit out and skip workouts when on the franchise tag, which seems like it’ll be the case for Pickens.
During the NFL Annual Meeting, The Athletic’s Jon Machota reported the following:
“Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said there haven’t been any recent contract talks with George Pickens. He’s not sure if Pickens will attend offseason work. He likes that Pickens has been working with Dak Prescott. Jones says Pickens remains part of Dallas’ future beyond this season.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said there haven’t been any recent contract talks with George Pickens. He’s not sure if Pickens will attend offseason work. He likes that Pickens has been working with Dak Prescott. Jones says Pickens remains part of Dallas’ future beyond this season pic.twitter.com/JjBD7Ot1kO
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) March 31, 2026
Additionally, he posted a video where Jones said:
“Well, I don’t and won’t get into our planning and structure of our team and our cap, but the franchise tag is an integral part of all teams, but certainly an integral part of our strategy over the next two or three years as we look at how to keep the best players we can have.”
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It makes as much sense for the Cowboys to utilize the franchise tag as it does for Pickens to sit out until he gets a new long-term contract extension. For both parties, it would be beneficial to resolve this issue sooner rather than later.
