The Dallas Cowboys have a lingering question hanging over their heads. We are not talking about the state of their linebacker group, although that is something that needs addressing. We are discussing one of the other balls in the air, and that is matters that relate to someone who catches a lot of those in wide receiver George Pickens.
Earlier this offseason the Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Pickens which puts him just south of $28M for financial purposes this season. That could always change
if the Cowboys were to get a long-term deal done with Pickens, but doing that (a long-term deal) has not exactly been something the front office has become known for in springs of recent memory.
Jerry Jones offered thoughts on Pickens’ future
Jerry Jones held court on Tuesday at NFL league meetings in Arizona and obviously the subject of Pickens came up. The Cowboys owner, president, and general manager noted that he wants Pickens to be around long-term. He said as much.
Recently the NFL saw the Seattle Seahawks put Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the club with real estate above $40M per year. JSN joined Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase in that regard. It feels a little bold to assume that Pickens could climb into that territory, but that is the going rate which has been the point around discussions of this ilk in the past.
The Cowboys are guaranteed Pickens’ services for 2026, but his value is important and really should be locked down for the long haul. Brian Schottenheimer was a guest on Up & Adams this week and told a story about when Pickens had first joined the team. The point of his story was that CeeDee Lamb was so happy and celebrating finally having help.
“The best thing about those two guys is the way they hang out. Literally, I was trying to track ’em down the other day and they were both together. They were on a beach somewhere doing something. And it started immediately.”
“One of the first people he saw [when joining the team] was CeeDee. It was really cool because it immediately took off. They push each other.”
“There’s a play I’ll go back to in OTAs… where CeeDee was on the back side in the boundary. GP ran a little sluggo seam. And Dak threw a touchdown.”
“And CeeDee was on the back side. And he literally when he saw GP catch a touchdown he threw his hands up like, ‘Thank you! I’m getting help!'”
We know that CeeDee Lamb has a long-term future with the Cowboys. It would be great if George Pickens did as well. It seems like Jerry Jones agrees with this assessment. The trouble and issue now will be coming to terms on a financial figure.
