The latest Cowboys, George Pickens update is as unsurprising as it is underwhelming
It’s the same old, same old for the Dallas Cowboys on the George Pickens front.
I bet you will not be surprised at the latest Dallas Cowboys update on the George Pickens front. But that doesn’t make it any easier.
In late February, the Cowboys used the franchise tag on Pickens—securing his rights for the 2026 season. After almost two weeks of NFL free agency frenzy and little over a month away from the draft, where do things stand now between the Cowboys and Pickens?
The answer: in the exact same place.
No talks between Cowboys and Pickens yet
The Cowboys and Pickens haven’t had contract talks, according to Cowboys insider Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News.
“No contract talks,” wrote Watkins on social media. “He’s been placed under franchise tag $27.2 million. Last we checked Jerry Jones said Pickens wants to be a Cowboy. It seems at this stage Pickens will play under the tag and keep it moving, but so much can change between now and camp.”
To be fair to the Cowboys, it makes sense for the front office to turn its attention to free agency over the last two weeks.
But considering their “bust the budget” offseason slogan has translated to the seventh-lowest free agency spending in the NFL so far, it would be nice to hear they’re at least making progress with Pickens.
Instead, all signs point toward the Cowboys allowing Pickens to play on the tag. Again, not that it’s a surprise. This is how the Cowboys have handled every contract negotiation when top-of-the-market money is involved.
Perhaps the most disappointing part of it all is that the Cowboys talked like an organization willing to do things differently this year. So far, other than hiring a younger defensive coordinator, that hasn’t been the case.
Last week, they missed on multiple top free agents at linebacker, their top need—presumably because they feared overpaying (busting the budget literally means overpaying, by the way). And in-house, they’re dragging out negotiations with Pickens and kicker Brandon Aubrey, their top two free agents entering the year.
Not all hope is lost, of course. The deadline to reach a long-term deal with franchise players is July 15. But so far, the Cowboys are acting like a team ready to allow Pickens to play on the tag.
And if you ask me, their free agency approach isn’t making up for it.
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