Stephen Jones: There will be no long-term deal with George Pickens in 2026
The Dallas Cowboys always have a plan. Even when the plan is there ain't no plan.
After giving up a third-round pick last year for receiver George Pickens, the Cowboys had no plan to turn the remainder of his contract into a fair long-term deal, if he performed at a high level. (He did.) Instead, the apparent plan was to employ him at a salary of $3.65 million in 2025 and, if he has a big year, to take full advantage of the franchise tag in 2026.
The market for receivers dramatically outpaces the franchise tag, by nearly $15 million per year. And so, in lieu of giving Pickens the contract he has earned, the Cowboys will hide behind the CBA provision that allows them to pay Pickens $27.298 million in 2026 - even though the market has recently moved to $42.15 million per year, thanks to the Jaxon Smith-Njigba deal.
Cowboys executive Stephen Jones confirmed that plan during a pre-draft press conference on Wednesday.
"There won't be negotiations on a long-term deal," Jones said, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Jones added, via Todd Archer of ESPN, that the team has no assurances as to when or if he'll show up for the offseason program. Until he accepts the franchise tender, he's not under contract. He can skip all of the offseason, all of training camp, and all of the preseason. He can show up just before the start of the regular season and make the full $27.298 million.
And then, next year, the Cowboys can tag him again. At a 20-percent increase over his 2026 salary: $33.576 million. Which is still well below market value.
This means that the Cowboys can keep Pickens for two years at a total payout of $60.874 million. It delays Pickens's long-term security by two full seasons, forcing him to stay healthy and to continue to play at a high level before earning a shot at the open market. (The Cowboys could then tag him a third time, but it would be far more expensive.)
The approach reduces Pickens to a business transaction. It doesn't take into account whether the player will be happy. Or whether he will believe he's being treated fairly.
The position quite possibly is influenced by Pickens's reluctance to talk to the Cowboys without the involvement of an agent. They love to cut out the agents, because the agents can get a much better deal than the players will get alone.
It would be foolish to think that the link between Pickens and Micah Parsons, who is represented by the same agent, didn't influence the decision.
The bottom-line message to Pickens becomes, essentially, "Tough shit. The CBA lets us do this. And we're going to do it."
His only option is to not play. Or to sign the one-year tender and not go all out, missing games due to injuries that would allow him to play if he had a proper long-term deal.
Even after the window for a long-term deal closes on July 15, the Cowboys could pay him more than the amount of the tag for 2026. They may have to decide whether they want to do that.
If they want to get the best out of Pickens, that would be the least they'd do. Ideally, they'd regard the situation as a good problem to have and they'd get him signed.