Jones: Pickens in Cowboys’ long-term plans’ despite no fresh talks – Todd Archer, ESPN
The Dallas Cowboys continue to express their desire to keep Pickens on a long-term deal.
In one breath, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said, “Make no mistake about it, we have long-term plans in mind” for Pro Bowl wide receiver George Pickens.
In the next, Jones acknowledged there have been no negotiations regarding a deal and seemed willing to let Pickens play out this season on the franchise tag.
“All of us play under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement, and the collective bargaining agreement clearly
anticipates the franchise tag and that’s part of what you sign up for in the NFL when you’re playing in the NFL or you’re a team in the NFL,” Jones said from the NFL’s annual meeting Tuesday. “And the franchise tag is there for a purpose. It’s to benefit the process to go ahead and put your team together. We are availing ourselves of it.”
Last month, the Cowboys placed the nonexclusive, $27.3 million franchise tag on Pickens, who established career highs last year in catches (93), receiving yards (1,429) and touchdowns (nine) in his first year with the Cowboys after he was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On Monday, Dallas coach Brian Schottenheimer said he has not had any assurances from Pickens that he will participate in any phase of the offseason program.
Asked about the importance of Pickens participating, Jones added Tuesday: “Well, I like the fact that he’s working (out) with Dak Prescott (this offseason) and they’re getting that in. That’s critical right now as well as in the future. So it’s good. It’s all good. It doesn’t mean that in any way that it is bad if they don’t have a structured attendance under those circumstances.”
Two years ago, Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb skipped the offseason program, OTAs and mandatory minicamp as he awaited a long-term contract extension before he played on his fifth-year option. Late in training camp, Lamb signed a four-year extension averaging $34 million a season.
Jerry Jones not anticipating re-visiting trade with Raiders, but not ruled out – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
The dreams of Maxx Crosby coming to the Cowboys are all but gone at this point.
One of the biggest stories of the NFL offseason in 2026 was the Maxx Crosby saga, which saw the Raiders and Ravens agree to terms on a deal to send Crosby to Baltimore in exchange for Las Vegas receiving two first round picks. In the end, the Ravens backed out of the deal after reports that Crosby had failed his physical.
At the NFL Owner’s Meetings on Tuesday, Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones was asked about the process of the deal. While responding, he mentioned that Dallas was in the mix to try and acquire Crosby, but it didn’t work out. Could that mean the Cowboys could potentially re-visit a potential trade with Las Vegas?
“I don’t anticipate, standing here right now, revisiting that situation. I don’t anticipate it. Is it possible? Yes.” Jones said.
“We would’ve basically looked at the same conditions with a physical. And as you know, we were in on making an offer for him, So he would’ve come to Dallas so we’ll all just guess what would’ve happened.”
As for the fallout of how the trade went for Baltimore and Las Vegas, Jones didn’t see any buried facts about the situation.
“Really it’s pretty simple for me, There’s no hidden item there. You have to pass a physical. You have to pass a physical,” Jones said. “We’ve never completed an agreement until the player passes a physical, That implies yours, being your doctors and trainers and everyone involved, get to take a look at it. That goes with the territory.”
So far this offseason, the biggest move Dallas has made in the pass rush department was acquiring OLB Rashan Gary from the Packers. Dallas has second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku going into his second year, re-signed Sam Williams, and brought back Tyrus Wheat from the Lions. Does he believe the Cowboys still need pass rush help?
“We’ve got to get it from some that we didn’t last year, from some of the players we didn’t have, plus some of the plays that we acquired this off-season,” Jones said. “The idea that that’s not a premium place to be, especially for the draft, then it would be one of our top areas of interest: the pressure.”
Brian Schottenheimer Very Emotional Over Blockbuster Cowboys-49ers Odighizuwa Trade – Mike Moraitis, Cowboys on SI
You can’t say Brian Schottenheimer doesn’t care about his players.
Players come and go on teams all the time in the NFL, but some players are just tougher to let go of than others.
And that was no doubt the case for Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer and star defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa.
Of course, the Cowboys traded Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers earlier in the offseason in a deal that netted Dallas a third-round pick.
Schottenheimer admitted while speaking to reports at the NFL Annual League Meeting that he and the now-former Cowboys defensive linemen “wept” after the trade went down.
“Anytime you go through a scheme change, there’s going to be adjustments where you move on from an incredible person, an incredible leader in Osa,” Schottenheimer said, per Tommy Yarrish of DallasCowboys.com.
“That was one of the hard ones. I’m happy to share with you guys, I wept. We both wept on the phone together. It was hard, but that’s the nature of the business. And I’m thrilled that he’s going to a place that is a great fit for him,” Schottenheimer added.
After getting a four-year, $80 million contract from the Cowboys,
Odighizuwa expressed his love for Schottenheimer, saying he was the “kind of coach you can run through a wall for,” so the feeling was obviously mutual between the player and coach.Odighizuwa was a good player for the Cowboys, and an even better person off the field, but it made sense to trade him.
Why the franchise tag has become a key part of the Dallas Cowboys’ offseason strategy – Joseph Hoyt, Dallas Morning News
The Cowboys are back to their old ways in using the franchise tag.
The Cowboys have an extensive history of utilizing the franchise tag. They’ve applied it 10 times on seven different players since 2010, with star receiver George Pickens being the lucky chosen one this offseason.
It’s a part of their past and present — and after listening to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Tuesday, it should be expected to be a part of their future, too.
“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,” Jones said on Tuesday from the annual owners meetings in Arizona, “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 relative to the cap.”
The Cowboys’ motivation for using it is also interesting.
There have been 131 franchise tags applied across the NFL from 2010 to 2025. In that time, 71 franchise tags have been stop gaps to extension agreements between the player and their respective team. On the flip side, 60 of those franchise tags didn’t result in deals by the end of the negotiation window, which falls on July 15 this year.
The Cowboys have mostly stayed down one path, at least when it comes to an initial usage of the franchise tag. In that time, only one franchise tag resulted in an extension before the long-term negotiation window closed. The Cowboys signed wide receiver Dez Bryant to a five-year, $70 million extension in 2015.
The Cowboys did come to agreements after franchise tags with quarterback Dak Prescott and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, but those deals came together after the second consecutive time the Cowboys franchise tagged them. Both Prescott and Lawrence signed extensions after playing one full season on the franchise tag. Defensive end Anthony Spencer (2012 and 2013), tight end Dalton Schultz (2022) and running back Tony Pollard (2023) never signed long-term extensions with the Cowboys.
There is a strategy to operating this way.
The ideal 4-round draft haul for the Cowboys – Brian Martin, Blogging the Boys
What would be your ideal four-round mock draft for the Cowboys?
Right now there’s no way of knowing how things will play out in April when the draft gets underway. It’s just one of those wait-and-see moments we have absolutely no control over. We can guesstimate though what the ideal draft haul could look like for the Cowboys in the first four rounds. That’s exactly what we’re going to attempt to do today was Dallas’ picks 12, 20, 92, and 112.
Round 1, Pick 12: S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently dropped a bombshell in a recent interview by saying there is a decent chance Caleb Downs could slide to the Cowboys at No. 12 in the first round. This would be an uncharacteristic selection for the Cowboys considering they haven’t drafted a safety in the first round since Roy Williams in 2002. Downs, however, should be the exception. He’s a plug-and-play starter who immediately upgrades Dallas’ defense and has the versatility to be a chess piece in Christian Parker’s scheme.
Round 1, Pick 20: LB CJ Allen, Georgia
CJ Allen decided to forgo any athletic testing at the combine as well as his Pro Day, instead choosing to do just position drills. This didn’t sit well with a lot of the draft community who believed he may be trying to hide his athletic deficiencies. Based on his film though, which should carry more weight, the former Georgia LB is still one of the top-ranked players at his position this year who should get drafted in the mid-to-late first-round. With the Cowboys, he’d immediately fill their biggest remaining roster “need” as a plug-and-play MLB as a rookie.
Round 3, Pick 92: CB Mailk Muhammad, Texas
The Cowboys signed Colbie Durant to be a potential starter and recently added Derion Kendrick for more depth at the CB position. Neither move should prevent Dallas from further trying to upgrade the position through the draft, and Malik Muhammad would be a great fit. At 6’0”, 183-pounds with 4.4 to speed, the former Longhorn CB would be a great fit in Christian Parker’s scheme. He is smooth in his transitions and is capable of playing in both press man or zone coverage.
Daily Discussion Question: How much better would you feel if the Cowboys traded for a linebacker before the draft?
