Cowboys plan for George Pickens to play on franchise tag in 2026 without long-term deal

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FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are planning for George Pickens to play on the franchise tag this year and won't negotiate with the star receiver or his agent on a long-term contract, executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said Wednesday.

Pickens hasn't signed the one-year deal worth $27.3 million, which means the 25-year-old would face no financial penalties if he didn't report to mandatory minicamp in June. The rest of the offseason program, which starts Monday, is voluntary.

“We’ve made a decision that we’re going to have George play under the franchise tag, which won’t be a first for us,” Stephen Jones said. “So there won’t be negotiations on a long-term deal. But that’s certainly not a first for this organization and certainly won’t be a first in the league in terms of this decision as we move forward.”

Stephen Jones said he hasn't talked to Pickens recently, but said owner Jerry Jones and coach Brian Schottenheimer met with him recently.

“It was good,” Schottenheimer said during the Cowboys' news conference leading into the NFL draft, which starts Thursday night. “The thing that George knows about Jerry and myself is we’re very upfront and we’re honest. We had great conversation. We informed him. We think that’s important because that’s the way we handle all of our players and coaches.”

David Mulugheta, Pickens' agent, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pickens, acquired last offseason in a trade with Pittsburgh, had career highs in catches (93), yards receiving (1,429) and touchdowns (nine) for one of the best offenses in the NFL last season. Dallas had one of the worst defenses in the league and finished 7-9-1, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.

The 2022 second-round pick out of Georgia thrived alongside CeeDee Lamb, who is going into the second year of a $136 million, four-year contract that currently ranks him third among NFL receivers with an average annual value of $34 million.

Lamb missed the entire offseason and training camp in 2024 holding out for the deal he signed about two weeks before the season opener.

The Cowboys couldn’t use the tag on Lamb because he was going into the fifth year of his rookie contract. The fifth year is a team option that goes with all deals for first-round picks. Second-rounders have four-year deals, and Pickens earned $6.8 million on his rookie contract.

Pickens’ talent was on display during three seasons with the Steelers, but so were enough instances of petulant or indifferent behavior for then-coach Mike Tomlin to question his maturity.

Schottenheimer never took issue with Pickens publicly in his first season as a head coach after a quarter-century as an NFL assistant. But Pickens and Lamb were benched for the first series in Las Vegas after missing curfew following a casino visit the night before the game.

“There’s a lot of things that go into that,” Stephen Jones said of the decision not to go forward on a long-term deal this offseason. “Let’s start with the fact that it’s not easy having two receivers being paid top of the market. A quarterback that’s been here, being the highest-paid player in this league for many years now.”

“The other thing is the newness of George being here,” Stephen Jones said. “I think George has just done an amazing job. I mean he’s exceeded all expectations. And a lot of those things, they make their way toward a long-term deal, but that’s the biggest part of it — between the business and newness of it, I think that’s a big part of it."

The Cowboys have until July 15 to reach a long-term deal with Pickens, who could stay away from the team well into the season without signing the offer under the franchise tag.

Quarterback Dak Prescott and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence played a season under the franchise tag within the past eight years for Dallas before reaching long-term deals. Tight end Dalton Schultz and running back Tony Pollard also played under the tag before leaving in free agency the next year.

The Cowboys are a year removed from contentious negotiations with Micah Parsons that ended with the star pass rusher getting traded to Green Bay. Mulugheta was also Parsons' agent.

“I expect that he’ll be around. I really do,” Schottenheimer said of Pickens. “The one thing that I love about George is George likes honesty and that’s who we are. That’s not just because his name is George Pickens and he’s a great player. We do that to undrafted free agents, and that gives you the best chance to make sure you’re all on the same page.”

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