George Pickens established himself as one of the league’s best wide receivers after joining the Dallas Cowboys from the Pittsburgh Steelers last year. Despite his impressive performances last season and his receiving the franchise tag, the July 15 deadline will pass without the wide receiver getting a multi-year deal in Dallas.
Louis Riddick Makes Predictions on George Pickens’ Future
During Wednesday’s segment of the “Get Up” show, ESPN analyst and former NFL executive Louis Riddick predicted that the situation in Dallas will force Pickens out next season.
“To me, this sounds like a situation that is setting up for 2026 to be George’s last season in Dallas,” Riddick said. “George kind of realizes that, and that’s why he said, ‘Hey, look, I’m gonna sign a tender going here and kind of rip it up this year and let the chips fall where they may in 2027.’ There’s really no way to look at it.”
The Cowboys franchised Pickens after his impressive first season in Dallas after joining from the Steelers, but decided not to sign him to an extension. The wide receiver signed the tender in April, guaranteeing his $27.3 million payment for the season.
In 2025, Pickens tallied his second 1,000-yard receiving season in his NFL career after being selected No. 52 overall by the Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft. In his first season in Dallas, he tripled his touchdown total from his last season in Pittsburgh.
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After his breakout season in Dallas, Pickens earned his first Pro Bowl nod and second-team All-Pro honors and later won the Pro Bowl Offensive MVP. On PFN’s Top 100 players’ list for the upcoming list, he ranked as the 70th-best player in the league, and the ninth-best wideout.
Riddick also broke down why the Cowboys might be hesitant to pay Pickens what he’s worth on the open market despite delivering the goods last season.
“They feel that the best version of George Pickens is the one that is hungry and trying to secure long-term financial stability in the form of a long-term contract,” Riddick said. “And they’re just not comfortable going ahead and giving him financial security and signing him to a long-term deal. You have to understand where Dallas is coming from with this. They have more information than anyone else.
“They’re the ones who were with him every single day last year. They know he produced, they know he had a heck of a season. They know that if he were to hit the open market, what he would command. They’re just not comfortable going ahead and giving him the guaranteed money that he probably will get on the open market from some football team.”
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Pickens earned a PFN Wide Receiver Impact score of 90.6, ranking him at No. 3 in the NFL last season. He tallied 1,429 receiving yards on 93 receptions, resulting in nine touchdowns for the Cowboys.
