George Pickens #3 of the Dallas Cowboys
On Friday, the Dallas Cowboys took the step that the entire NFL expected the team to take in the wake of George Pickens‘ breakout season, which featured 93 catches and 1,429 yards plus nine touchdowns. The team placed the franchise tag on Pickens, essentially keeping his rights in place for the next season.
The two sides will now seek to work out a long-term deal that both reduces the $29 million cap hit the Cowboys have on hand with Pickens’ tag, and gets Pickens paid among the top receivers in the game, as he should be following his top-shelf performance.
All that makes sense. Eventually, the Cowboys and Pickens would like to land in a place where both sides are happy with his contract on the books and winning games on the field. But the timeline of getting from today, with the tag being placed, to that point in the future where Pickens has his new deal, is entirely unpredictable.
Cowboys Officially Announce George Pickens Franchise Tag
Once news of the Cowboys tag on Pickens was announced, the question became: What next? Here’s how things unfolded this week.
First came this from the Cowboys official Twitter/X site at about noon ET on Friday: “We have placed the franchise tag on George Pickens.”
That was the official announcement, and before that, the Cowboys had met with Pickens’ representatives and, reported ESPN’s Todd Archer, came away set to place the tag on Pickens but to do so in a mildly surprising way: It’s the non-exclusive tag, which allows Pickens to talk with other teams.
Wrote Archer on Twitter/X: “Told the tag, which has now been turned in, is the non-exclusive tag, allowing teams to talk to Pickens when free agency begins. The actual figure will not be known until the 2026 cap is finalized.”
Cowboys Offseason Program Could Be First Casualty
And there’s what’s next for the Cowboys and Pickens. The key signposts ahead start with free agency and offseason workouts:
March 11. Because it is a non-exclusive franchise tag, other teams can start negotiating with Pickens at the beginning of the league year on this date. If Pickens signs a deal with another team, Dallas will have five days to match it–and the new team, “would have to pay the Cowboys two first-round picks.”
It is unlikely, then, that a team will be willing to risk signing Pickens to a contract that not only makes him a top-of-the-market receiver, but also costs two first-rounders.
Mid-May. This would be the start of voluntary OTAs. The team would like Pickens to show up. But the workouts are not mandatory so there would not be punishment if he doesn’t.
Mid-June. This is where the rubber would hit the road, at mandatory minicamp. Pickens could either skip the camp entirely and be subject to a fine, or he could show up and not participate, the same sort of “hold-in” tactic that Micah Parsons used last year.
George Pickens Contract Situation Will Peak on July 15
But when July arrives, the Pickens saga will get serious:
July 15. This is probably the most important point on the calendar for Pickens and the Cowboys. As Nick Harris of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram wrote, “The Cowboys have until July 15 to work out a long-term contract with Pickens that extends beyond 2026. After that date passes, he will either have to sign and play on the franchise tag (set to cost the Cowboys around $28 million for 2026), work out a restructured one-year contract or not sign the tag and sit out the 2026 season.”
Late July. Around the final week of July, the Cowboys will open up training camp in Oxnard, California. Again, Pickens could hold out and stay away (as CeeDee Lamb did in 2024) or hold in like Parsons last year.
September 13. That will be Week 1 in the NFL. Even after the passing of the July 15 deadline, Pickens still has the choice to sign the tag contract, get a different one-year deal from the Cowboys or continue sitting out. It’s possible he could still be sitting out in Week 1.
November 17. On the Tuesday after Week 10 in the NFL season, slated for November 17, Pickens will face his final deadline. If he has still not signed the tag contract, or worked out a new deal with Dallas, at this point he would be ineligible to play for the rest of the season.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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