Stephen Jones on George Pickens: We couldn't take a chance on losing him

The Cowboys officially placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on wide receiver George Pickens, which will carry a salary of $27.298 million for the 2026 season.

The NFL announced the official franchise tag and transition numbers on Friday.

Clarence Hill of All-City DLLS reports that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Pickens on Thursday before flying to Indianapolis to inform him of the team's intent to tag the wide receiver.

"We couldn't take the chance on losing him," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told Hill. "George was fired up, excited. He said, 'I don't want to play anywhere but with the Cowboys.' That's what we suspected. It was all good."

It seems hard to believe that Pickens would have been "fired up" about receiving the franchise tag. He will truly be "fired up" if the Cowboys can work out a long-term deal worth more than $30 million annually.

Pickens led the team in targets (137), catches (93), yards (1,429) and touchdowns (eight) in 2025 after a trade from Pittsburgh.