Getty
George Pickens #3 of the Dallas Cowboys
Entering the 2026 NFL offseason, the Dallas Cowboys and star wide receiver George Pickens are in an interesting position.
Pickens, who is set to become a free agent this offseason after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers last offseason, put together a strong 2025 campaign. He was a star within the Cowboys’ offense and is going to command a hefty contract.
Jerry Jones has a decision to make. He can either offer Pickens a long-term contract, place the franchise tag on him, or trade him away.
At this point in time, it would be shocking to see Dallas move on from Pickens after the year he had. Keeping him in town would be the best decision for the Cowboys. How they choose to do that becomes the biggest question.
With that being said, a new prediction has been made for how this situation will unfold.
Dallas Cowboys, George Pickens Land New Offseason Prediction
Plenty of opinions and predictions have already come in regarding this situation. However, another has arrived.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay believes that Jones and Dallas will slap the franchise tag on Pickens. He thinks the Cowboys will play out the 2026 season with Pickens playing on a one-year, $28 million contract under the tag.
“Although Pickens won’t have the long-term security that a multi-year deal provides quite yet, he’ll be well-positioned to sign a record-setting contract in 2027 if he can repeat his successes this coming season,” Kay wrote.
Sticking around in Dallas would be a wise decision for Pickens as well. While he would like the lucrative long-term contract right now, a franchise tag at $28 million would be a solid consolation prize. With another strong season in 2026, he’ll get paid big-time in 2027.
Taking a Look at George Pickens’ Monster 2025 Season
During his first three seasons in the NFL with the Steelers, Pickens showed flashes of superstar potential. Unfortunately, he was never able to reach that level of play.
In 2025 with the Cowboys, however, it was a different story.
Pickens played in all 17 regular season games for Dallas and racked up 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. All of those statistics were career highs.
At just 24 years old, the sky is the limit moving forward for Pickens. There have been some reports about issues off of the field with him, but he turned his career around with the Cowboys.
Staying within that offense would be the right move for the talented young wideout. He is coming close to entering the superstar level of NFL wide receiver.
While nothing has been set in stone regarding Pickens’ future in Dallas, it seems very likely that he’ll be back in 2026. Whether he’s playing on a long-term contract or the franchise tag remains to be seen, but it would be very surprising to see the Cowboys lose him this offseason.
Evan Massey Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst located in Indianapolis, Indiana who covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, and college sports. He has been featured on many publications, including Newsweek, Athlon Sports, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, and many others. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son. More about Evan Massey
More Heavy on Cowboys
Loading more stories