2025 was not a hallmark year for the Dallas Cowboys. After the disastrous negotiations, they traded arguably the best player on the team, Micah Parsons. As a result, the defense was a mess, and they couldn’t string together victories.
However, the silver lining to their experience was the arrival of George Pickens. Perpetually questioned during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he emerged as a legitimate superstar next to Dak Prescott. But the organization may have made a huge mistake by placing the franchise tag on him rather than offering a contract extension.
George Pickens Doesn’t Owe the Cowboys Anything
Even as the record plummeted, the offense was a shining light for the Cowboys all season long. Prescott put together one of his best campaigns, thanks in large part to Pickens, who held the team afloat.
CeeDee Lamb, after establishing himself as a true WR1 and earning a four-year, $136 million contract, battled through injuries and was limited to 14 games. But beyond the games played, he was limited on the field as well.
As a result, he took a clear backseat to Pickens, who outpaced him in yards (1,429 to 1,077), catches (93 to 75), and touchdowns (nine versus three), which has made the decision not to extend him even more perplexing.
On the latest episode of “Speakeasy,” former linebacker turned sports media analyst Emmanuel Acho made his stance clear about Pickens: “If he does play on the tag, it’s a gigantic mistake. You work to get a long-term contract, and he did everything he was supposed to do.”
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Explaining the original deal between the two sides, he claimed, “‘Hey, trade me to a team. I’m gonna lock in, I’m gonna stay focused, I’m not gonna miss any games for any boneheaded reasons, I’m gonna go crazy, I’m gonna ball, and y’all gonna pay me long-term money.’ That’s the deal.”
Now, after a year in which he was third in the league in receiving yards (1,429) and was a bigger reason for the Cowboys’ offensive prowess than even Lamb, Acho believes the onus falls on the organization.
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“He did his end of the bargain. And now the Cowboys want to franchise tag him. You get franchise tagged once, and you accept it, why would they not franchise tag you again?”
Unfortunately, the concerns with playing on the franchise tag were multifold. “The dilemma with the franchise tag is, play on this franchise tag, and you mess up an ankle, you mess up a hamstring, you mess up a quad, you mess up anything, that money that you were gonna get? It might not be there again.”
That would be a cruel fate for Pickens, after he finished at number three on PFN’s WR Impact. However, given the commitment Dallas has already given to Lamb (top-5 in 2022 and 2023), any injury concerns could immediately make Pickens expendable.
Acho alluded to a similar point as he added, “The Cowboys have also had success offensively without you, George Pickens. So let you mess around and get hurt, and CeeDee Lamb goes for 1,800 yards, which he’s capable of, have 190 catches, which he’s capable of, why wouldn’t they tag you again? Let you get hurt, and the Cowboys go to the playoffs, which they’re capable of doing, why wouldn’t they tag you again?”
The Other Side of the Pickens Situation
Even with his anger at the situation where he claimed, “George Pickens is robbing tomorrow’s fortune for today’s wealth. I just don’t think it is wise,” the former Philadelphia linebacker star was certain that there was another twist in the tale yet to come.
During his contract negotiations with the Cowboys, Lamb was adamant about getting his money. As a result, even after the team picked up his fifth-year rookie option, he opted not to participate in voluntary workouts, mandatory minicamp, and training camp.
That holdout eventually worked out in his favor, and Acho was adamant that Pickens was going to follow a similar trajectory in the coming weeks. Even though he’d been a faithful soldier through workouts and camps, he believed the real test would come in the actual games.
“Until I see George Pickens lace up a game, even in preseason, not in regular season, because if you play in preseason, you’re playing in the regular season, I’m still not convinced that he is playing in Dallas on this tag,” Acho added. “I’m still not convinced. I got to see it to believe it because I have not seen it before in the history of that agency.”
That scenario could force team owner and general manager Jerry Jones’ hand to make a decision on Pickens. A potential trade or signing him to a long-term extension might be the only two pathways available to him.
But given the attitude concerns that have already plagued the All-Pro selection, it might limit Jones’ options in finding a suitable trade partner.
