{"id":737313,"date":"2026-02-08T04:56:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T04:56:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/737313\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T04:56:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T04:56:27","slug":"cowboys-to-franchise-george-pickens-set-up-contract-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/737313\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys to Franchise George Pickens, Set Up Contract Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"categories\"><a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/steelers-news\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Steelers News<\/a>\u2022<a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/steelers-opponents\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Steelers Opponents<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"788\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/11-10-2024-Steelers-v-Commanders-11669.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium tpd-force-16x9-aspect-ratio wp-post-image\" alt=\"Pittsburgh Steelers George Pickens\" decoding=\"sync\" loading=\"eager\"   fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens in a game against the Washington Commander on Nov. 10, 2024. &#8212; Ed Thompson \/ Steelers Now\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>After a breakout year with the Dallas Cowboys, former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/tag\/george-pickens\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">George Pickens<\/a> is expected to be franchise tagged by Jerry Jones, ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter reported on Saturday night.<\/p>\n<p>Pickens posted career highs with 93 receptions, 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches during his first go-round with Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. He was named a second-team Associated Press All-Pro for his efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Pickens was asked earlier this week about how he\u2019d feel about being franchise tagged. <\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Dallas Cowboys are expected to place their franchise tag on Pro Bowl wide receiver George Pickens, league sources told ESPN.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JnfL2KFjmg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener noreferrer nofollow\">https:\/\/t.co\/JnfL2KFjmg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AdamSchefter\/status\/2020288020877087221?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener noreferrer nofollow\">February 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"525\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/12-17-2024-Steelers-Practice-11564.jpg\" alt=\"Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens\" class=\"wp-image-97725\"  \/>Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens at practice on Dec. 17, 2024. \u2014 Ed Thompson \/ Steelers Now<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not really sure,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/sports\/2026\/02\/02\/dallas-cowboys-george-pickens-contract-talks-negotations-free-agency-franchise-tag\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener external nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"(opens in a new tab)\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Pickens said<\/a>. \u201cIt would be my first time. I wouldn\u2019t really know how to react. I would want to just be with the guys. \u2026 All I can say is I hope for the best. I can\u2019t really control the uncontrollables.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A franchise tag deal would pay him nearly $29 million for one season, but provide no added security after that, something that Pickens probably won\u2019t like. Pickens could fight it by sitting out and demanding a more lucrative contract.<\/p>\n<p>Pickens enjoyed his first season in Dallas alongside fellow wideout CeeDee Lamb, something Jones might be banking on with the decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey did right by me,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theplayerstribune.com\/george-pickens-nfl-football-dallas-cowboys\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener external nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"(opens in a new tab)\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Pickens said<\/a>\u00a0in November of the Steelers trading him to the Cowboys. \u201cThey sent me to the perfect spot in Dallas. What more do you want me to say? There\u2019s no drama, bro. No headlines to write. They\u2019re doing things their way up there, and I\u2019m down here in Dallas with CeeDee (Lamb) and Dak (Prescott) doing what I do best. Everybody wins.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI swear, there\u2019s a higher power guiding all of this. I was meant to get this fresh start in Dallas. It felt like coming home \u2014 in a real way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned In This Article: <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/tag\/dallas-cowboys\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/tag\/george-pickens\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">George Pickens<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/tag\/jerry-jones\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Jerry Jones<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/tag\/pittsburgh-steelers\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/tag\/steelers\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Steelers<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Steelers News\u2022Steelers Opponents Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens in a game against the Washington Commander on Nov. 10,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":737314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[257,7,467,2883,6,520,57,2360,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-737313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-dallas-cowboys","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-george-pickens","11":"tag-jerry-jones","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-pittsburgh","14":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","15":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","16":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116033237997882846","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}