“We want Pickens here, we think the world of him. We want him here, love him. And I think he wants to be here, so all that’s a plus,” Jones said, per The Athletic.
The window to place the franchise tag on players opened on Feb. 17, and runs through March 3. The deadline to sign Pickens to a long-term deal will be July 15. If he were to play on the tag in 2026, Pickens would make a fully-guaranteed $28,037,000, per Spotrac.
The Cowboys acquired Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers last offseason, and put together his best NFL season in a contract year. Pickens caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns, and was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time. Spotrac predicts Pickens could sign a deal that averages $30.6 million per year, which would make him the No. 7 highest-paid receiver in the NFL if we go off of last year’s numbers. Pickens has said that he’s searching for the “ultimate best deal” that benefits both parties, but it remains to be seen what that could be.
Just because the Cowboys are tagging Pickens doesn’t guarantee he will be on roster in 2026. The Cowboys reportedly view tagging and trading Pickens away as a possibility, according to NFL Media, but the goal is to reach a new multi-year deal.
“I’m talking to George all the time by virtue of my excitement for him,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said of Pickens’ future. “He’s better than, as far as what he contributed to our team, showing the potential that he could contribute. I’m looking forward to getting things worked out so George can be a Cowboy [for] a long time.”
