On Tuesday, Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said the organization is, “leaning that direction,” when asked if they plan to place their franchise tag on wide receiver George Pickens. 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 do so. While it’d be a costly decision, it’ll also ensure the star plays for Dallas next season.
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. Earlier this month, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones discussed the concern that using a franchise tag on Pickens would create issues in the two parties’ relationship.
“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.”
Some fans were concerned about Pickens exhibiting disciplinary issues before the question of a franchise tag emerged. While with the Steelers 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.
Though Pickens largely avoided on-field issues last season, he reportedly struggled with punctuality at times. Nonetheless, Pickens’ teammates have been vocal about their hopes for the Cowboys to retain Pickens this offseason.
“It doesn’t matter, whichever way that they got to do it, he’s an important piece of this offense, an important piece of what we’re trying to do. I’ll leave it to those guys,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said of re-signing Pickens. “Obviously if I need to get involved, I’ve said it before, I will. But (I’m) confident in (Cowboys owner Jerry Jones) and everybody who makes those decisions and how much he means to us.”