The Dallas Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer recently attended the NFL Annual Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix and provided an update on wide receiver George Pickens' future in Dallas.

Schottenheimer positively responded when asked about his contact with Pickens, “I had a conversation with George, he’s doing great. He and CeeDee have been taking a lot of trips together.”

He continued, “GP loves it here. We love GP. We have plans for GP to be here for a long time, so we’ll let the business side of this thing play out and see where it goes.”

The Cowboys cannot afford to have Pickens miss offseason work, as they are coming up to be one of the best offenses in the game. But the extension of Pickens' contract is still uncertain, despite Schottenheimer wanting a long-term deal for the WR.

Pickens has been franchise tagged by the Cowboys and will earn $27.298 million under it this season. Dallas has until July 15 to sign him to a multi-year extension before he plays out the tag year.

According to Jon Machota of The Athletic, the "most likely scenario" is for Pickens to play on the tag in 2026. And the wide receiver market is at an all-time high.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba reset the benchmark with a four-year, $168.6 million deal worth $42.15 million per year. That number raises the floor for what Pickens can demand from Jerry Jones.

Notably, George Pickens’ best season was last year with the Cowboys. He earned his first Pro Bowl selection and second-team All-Pro Honors. Also, racked up career high stats with 93 receptions, 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 17 games. 

On asking further whether Pickens will join them for the offseason program, Schottenheimer replied:

“I haven’t pushed that on him; we’re all going through the process. It’s almost April. We’re still a couple weeks away. It’s going to play out the way it plays out. Again, it’s all voluntary. We’ll see where it goes.”

Stephen Jones defends the franchise tag decision

Stephen Jones, the co-owner of the Cowboys, addressed Pickens' wanting a long-term deal with the franchise.

"I respect that everybody would want a long-term deal," Jones said on March 30. "Obviously, teams around the league use it. Players around the league have played under a tag. It's a lot of money. But at the same time, I also understand why players want a long-term deal."

He added, "We've had a lot of players here in Dallas that have, including our quarterback, the most valuable player to the franchise, has played under a tag. We certainly understand it, respect it, but we also know it's part of the salary cap and part of putting a team together."

But when asked about the potential contract talks with Pickens, Jones was quick to respond, "We're just not going to comment as we move forward on negotiations on where that stands or anything like that."

Watch how the Cowboys made history against the Chiefs.

Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore