With the start of preseason right around the corner, teams are rushing to lock up their top dogs with hefty contract extensions. Within the span of 24 hours, both Bijan Robinson and Zay Flowers received massive extensions on their initial rookie-scale deals.
However, the situation with George Pickens remains unresolved, at least for the time being.
Currently on a non-exclusive franchise tag for the Dallas Cowboys, the expectation was that he would get a major deal after putting together the best season of his career in 2025.
Cowboys WR George Pickens Remains in Zay Flowers’ Shadow
After three years with the Baltimore Ravens, Flowers was rewarded for the career he’s had so far. A solid rookie season has translated to back-to-back years with over 1,000 receiving yards under his belt.
But even with that production, the four-year, $140 million contract that ties him with Justin Jefferson in average annual value felt like a bit of an overpay for a player who has ranked #11 and #9 in PFN’s WR Impact Metrics in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
On the other hand, Pickens was nowhere near Flowers’ level in 2024, recording fewer than 1,000 receiving yards, despite a weird combination of Justin Fields and Russell Wilson as his quarterbacks. But last season, with Dak Prescott under center, he exploded.
With 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, he ranked at number three on PFN’s WR Impact Metrics. As a result, the expectation was that he’d sign a blockbuster extension. Instead, he signed the franchise tag in late April and has been the perfect soldier for the Cowboys.
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After news of the Flowers extension came out, though, Pickens revealed his true thoughts on his value as a playmaker. Making an appearance on “GBAG Nation” on 105.3 The Fan, his mentality remained as steadfast as ever.
“I feel like that’s nice. Me, personally, I kind of let the world speak for me, but me personally, I think I’m definitely in that range or above,” he said.
When asked about a potential hold-in to vie for a new contract, Pickens remained unmoved.
“No, not really. I was just focused on coming with the guys. Kind of let my agent do all of that. I kinda really locked in on the guys because I don’t want to be focused on that. Then they are focused on that cause some of them still are, and now no one is focused.”
#Cowboys George Pickens reaction to the Zay Flowers $35 million a year deal and where he sees himself compared to it.
“…Me personally, i think I’m definitely in that range or above…”
Pickens also said there weren’t any plans for him to hold in or hold out before camp because… pic.twitter.com/tZ9zSAWtGB
— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) August 4, 2026
Throughout the interview, though, the mindset from the former Pro Bowler became clearly apparent, as he added, “I wanted to be at least one of the guys that’s like, ‘You guys are probably worried about me, but you still gotta cut here.’ You gotta have that mindset, you’ve just gotta keep going.”
It remains to be seen whether this attitude will remain consistent for Pickens all season long. The veteran wide receiver is taking a major risk by moving forward without a truly guaranteed contract in a sport as physical as the NFL.
But after years of his attitude and commitment being called into question, it seems he has alleviated any doubts in that regard with his resume.
