Cowboys will not negotiate long-term deal with WR George Pickens
The Dallas Cowboys placed their franchise tag on George Pickens in March.
They didn't view it then as a likely holder to negotiate until the July 15 deadline, and they announced Wednesday they will not be negotiating anymore between now and July.
Pickens will instead play the 2026 season under the franchise tag.
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," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Wednesday at the club's pre-draft news conference. 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 for the league in terms of this decision as we move forward."
Quarterback Dak Prescott, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and running back Tony Pollard have each played under the franchise tag in the last decade for Dallas. Prescott and Lawrence later got handsome extensions with the franchise.
Leaving Pickens under the tag is not how many teams would do business. But the Cowboys only traded for Pickens last May and want a larger sample size of his production and off-field leadership.
They have informed Pickens and his agent, David Mulugheta, Stephen Jones said. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer spoke with Pickens, who has thrown with Prescott this offseason.
He loves it here," Schottenheimer said. We're thrilled with what he did, we're looking forward to another great year. What was really cool for me in our conversations with him is him talking about taking the next step as a leader. The influence he has on this locker room is very powerful because he loves playing football so much. That's what we love about George."
Pickens led the Cowboys with 93 catches for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns last season while playing opposite Lamb, who caught 75 passes for 1,077 yards and three scores (Lamb missed three games due to injury).
The Cowboys dealt the Steelers a third-round pick for Pickens, whom Pittsburgh selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
In three seasons with the Steelers, Pickens averaged 59.2 yards per game compared to his 84.1 per game in his initial Cowboys year. He caught 12 touchdowns in 48 games in Pittsburgh compared to nine in 17 games with Dallas.
This developing story will be updated.