George Pickens was crystal clear about future in 2026

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As all the star players came out for the Pro Bowl games yesterday, plenty of the Dallas Cowboys media caught up with George Pickens and many others.

Nonetheless, we all know how this offseason talk goes; reporters like to ask the most obvious questions about players returning to Dallas, etc.

Pickens said he is “willing to do anything” when asked his thoughts on the franchise tag, but he makes clear his belief that his value increased after his career year. He caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1992747126993084532?s=20

Just Pay The Man

Over the last few years, the Cowboys’ front office has dragged out contract extensions with their star players to the point of all of us fans tuning out before they even make the deal final.

It happened with CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott in 2024, and it happened with Micah Parsons in 2025 before he was traded. The next star player up for a new deal is All-Pro wide receiver Pickens.

On Monday at the Pro Bowl games before the Super Bowl, Pickens spoke to DLLS Cowboys reporter Clarence Hill, who asked if he would be okay with being tagged. Pickens dodged answering the question directly but indicated that it is up to the Cowboys to make the first move.

His quarterback, Dak Prescott, also spoke on if he wanted to have Pickens back next season and his answer was clear as day.

“We have two 1’s,” and that is true, getting Pickens signed needs to be next on the list for Dallas, I have a strong feeling that Pickens could end up like Dez Bryant and if he gets tagged, he won’t be there.

I understand that the Cowboys’ offense was good a season ago, but when your defense can’t stop a parked car, they were lucky to win seven games.

“We have two No. 1’s”

Dak Prescott speaks on George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb’s connection in their first season as the dynamic duo.

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I think bringing in Parker and an entire new staff, this defense should be better than it was a year ago, but let’s be honest, that shouldn’t be hard to do!

With Ryan Flournoy coming on the way that he did at the end of the season last year, he should kick Jalen Tolbert to the curb and, if they resign Pickens, this wide out core should be one of the best, if not the best in all of football.

Price Range?

So if Dallas does end up signing Pickens, what do we think the price tag would be for him?

A 2022 NFL Draft second-round selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pickens was traded to the Cowboys in the 2025 offseason and made a $3.65 million base salary in the final year of his rookie contract.

Pickens will command upwards of $20 million a year moving forward, with a franchise tag estimated to guarantee him $28 million-plus.

The issue is, do we think Jerry Jones is going to pay that or do we think that he will try and get him for a lower price?

Keep in mind that Pickens and Micah Parsons both have the same agent, David Mulugheta of Athletes First.

We know how hard it was for Jerry to get a deal with Parsons and end up trading him, so I really hope that things are not this hard during this contract with Pickens, because this team on offense needs him with a new-look defense.

It is going to be a long month and half, but if I was Dallas I would be trying to get him signed as soon as possible so they don’t have to worry about this drama heading into the NFL draft.

Give him a three or four year deal, and all sides of the deal will be happy

More on this topic: 2026 Offseason Tracker

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Shane Taylor is a sports journalist with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and seven years of professional media experience. He has written 766 articles for InsideTheStar.com, reaching over 928,000 readers. Prior to Inside The Star, Shane worked as a Sports Reporter for Journal Star and a Regional News Reporter for Shaw Media. He currently works in the Communication field at a Junior College.

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VAM
VAM
Feb 4, 2026 3:05 PM

They should try to sign the uber talented Pickens or just tag him, and then hopefully he still gives 100%.

Edward Carmichael
Edward Carmichael
Feb 5, 2026 1:16 PM

a Dallas Cowboys fan, since the 70’s Jerry Jones already have two fat contracts all ready eating up the Cowboys salary cap will Jerry Jones make George Pickens the 3rd player