There are two major players on the Green Bay Packers that would love to see wideout George Pickens wearing green and gold next season. That much is clear.

Those two players are also the cornerstone pieces for this franchise moving forward: Star pass-rusher Micah Parsons and star quarterback Jordan Love.

Advertisement

Pickens, a former second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Dallas Cowboys. He was traded from Pittsburgh to Dallas ahead of the 2025 season and absolutely revived his career. He went from a player with a punch of untapped potential to one who could be a bona fide WR1 in the league.

The problem for Dallas is that Pickens is now entering free agency since he was playing on his original rookie deal in 2025.

The Cowboys can, of course, re-sign him, but Dallas wideout CeeDee Lamb revealed recently to Kay Adams that Parsons has been getting into Pickens’ ear about the Packers while at the Pro Bowl.

Advertisement

“Everybody in my face is trying to recruit him [Pickens] while I’m standing right next to him. Micah, for one. I don’t know what’s going on with him,” Lamb said.

When pressed by Adams to name another player that has been recruiting Pickens, Lamb went right back to another Packer: Keisean Nixon.

“Green Bay clearly wants him,” Lamb said.

That trend continued a day later when Adams was interviewing Love. As it turns out, he has a personal connection to Pickens as well. They also have the same agent.

Advertisement

“If you can bring in another player, George Pickens. He had a phenomenal year, he’s a great player. I would love to have the most talented players on our team at all times, and we’ll see,” Love said. “I played basketball with him. I know what type of bounce he’s got.”

The reality of bringing George Pickens to Green Bay

It’s all fun and games at the Pro Bowl, but unfortunately, for the Packers, the odds are low that Pickens will be playing for Green Bay in 2026 and beyond.

Advertisement

The first hurdle is, of course, the Cowboys. Like the Packers, the Cowboys are over the projected salary cap. They do have the potential to make a few moves to clear a whopping $147.2 million, though.

The Packers don’t have that salary cap potential. In fact, they’re realistically looking at an offseason where they’ll have to cut players like Rashan Gary, Elgton Jenkins and maybe even Josh Jacobs to make finances work.

That’s what happens when you’re paying Parsons an average annual salary of $46.5 million while paying your quarterback, Love, $55 million on average annually.

Advertisement

The Packers have two premium players at two premium positions. Love’s salary cap hit in 2026 is going to be $36 million. Parsons is not that far behind at $19.2 million.

The Packers are strapped for cash, for good reason, so the reality is that even if they wanted to bring Pickens in, they’ll probably not be able to afford him as a free agent. According to Spotrac, he’s trending towards getting a four-year, $122 million deal, which could average $30 million a year.

The Packers can find some money to play with by making strategic cuts and manipulating contracts through extensions and restructures, but they won’t have that kind of money.

Advertisement

Unfortunately, what that means is that Parsons’ and Love’s recruiting efforts at the Pro Bowl will probably be all for not.

PackersRoundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Packers. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.