After the Dallas Cowboys re-signed Javonte Williams over the weekend to a three-year, $24 million deal, reports are already out that Dallas is already on the verge of making two other important moves for 2026.
I have to give credit to this front office for actually moving quickly and with no drama this offseason thus far and getting important things done before the summer.
After signing Williams, now the Cowboys are looking ahead to getting kicker Brandon Aubrey signed, and within the next week they intend to finalize the franchise tag on George Pickens, which is valued at $28 million dollars.
On The Move
Once a team places a tender on an RFA, they have until April 17 to sign the tender. Until that point, they are free to negotiate deals with any other team. If they agree to an offer sheet, the original club can either match it, or accept draft compensation based on the level of the tender.
As Aubrey was an undrafted free agent, there’s no way the Cowboys use the lowest tender amount, $3,547,000. On the other end, there’s not a kicker in the league who makes the first-round tender amount of $8.1 million.
That means that the Cowboys could only choose the second-round tender amount of $5.8 million.
They have been trying to get a deal done with Aubury since last season, but I have no clue what the actual holdup has been, like what do you even pay a kicker anyway?
The highest-paid kicker in the NFL is Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs, who signed an extension in 2024 worth $6.4 million annually.
His four-year, $25.6 million contract includes $17.75 million in guarantees.
Do we think Aubury should get that much money? I mean, coming into the season, people thought he was the best kicker, but he did have been a down year in terms of the standards that everyone was holding him to, but he is still a top three kicker in this league.
Either way, it seems like the next one to be signed will be Aubrey, that is meaning with a contract. For the first time pretty much since the season ended we heard from Stephen Jones, and he told us about the latest with George Pickens.
“We want Pickens here. We think the world of him,” Jones said. “Want him here. Love him, and I think he wants to be here. So all that’s a plus.”
The franchise tag tends to elicit grimaces from players on the receiving end of them because of how it hinders their long-term earning power and limits them to a one-year, relatively lucrative (but high risk) pay day.
This team has to do everything they can to keep the offense together. They are already off to a good start with Williams and gutting the entire defensive staff.
@tthasselbeck breaks down why franchise tagging George Pickens raises the ceiling for the Cowboys ✍️
Pickens had his best year as a pro with 93 catches, 1,429 yards, and nine touchdowns.
He said he wants to make around $30 million and the tag is only $28 million.
These are the next two moves that are on the horizon for the Cowboys, and honestly, I would not expect Pickens to play on the tag, so look for them to get something done around the combine or even the actual NFL draft in April.
Pickens has the same agent as Micah Parsons, and we all know how that ended, but there is no reason that George should not be a Dallas Cowboy next year if they truly want to have a shot at making the postseason and doing anything.
You will have one of the best offenses in all of football once again in 2026 and if they can revamp the defense, they can be a lot better on that end.
They won seven games with the worst defense in football. They have to do everything they can to keep this offense together for at least one or two more years and they have started with signing Javonte Williams.
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