The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly “leaning” toward using their franchise tag on wide receiver George Pickens. During an appearance on The Arena: Gridiron, Skip Bayless warned the Cowboys against investing so heavily in Pickens’ future.

“In the end, George Pickens, you can’t trust him to be a winning football player, to be a leader of your team,” Bayless said. “He makes some winning plays, but then you look at the end of the day and you say we’re 7-9-1. I don’t think the rest of the team loved it that he was constantly missing or late to meetings, because that’s just who he is. That’s why Mike Tomlin said no to it.

“If he were a solid citizen, I’d be saying, ‘No, you’ve got to go with him,’ because you could make the case he’s even better than CeeDee Lamb. But, CeeDee is a leader and a solid citizen and a baller and a playmaker, and I got that guy.”

Pickens was traded to the Cowboys last offseason after spending the first three seasons of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was spectacular in his debut campaign with the Cowboys, recording 93 catches for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns this past season.

Pickens’ 1,429 receiving yards were the third-most in the NFL. Despite Pickens’ undeniable success, the former Georgia standout’s history of disciplinary issues concerns Bayless.

In the 2024 campaign, George Pickens received two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the Steelers’ 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. In the same game, he punted a ball into the stands after scoring a touchdown.

In the prior week, Pickens was involved in a scuffle with Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II during a Hail Mary attempt. Pickens has also reportedly had issues with his punctuality.

Any off-the-field issues didn’t slow Pickens down on the gridiron this past season. The Cowboys have until March 3 to use their franchise tag on Pickens.

The organization would owe Pickens approximately $28 million next season if they opt to use their franchise tag on him. While it’d be a costly decision, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seems open to the idea.

“It crosses your mind,” Jones said, per ESPN. “I mean, a lot of the guys we’ve tagged participated in everything, Dak [Prescott] leading the way. He played under two of them. He never missed anything. Hopefully, that’ll be the case here.

“… In the past, we’ve done deals with top players and it’s happened in a hurry… But at the end of the day, every agent’s different, what they’re trying to accomplish, the way they look at their strategy and what they’re about.”