Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens signed with the Cowboys this season on a franchise tag worth $27.3 million. Pickens became a free agent this offseason, holding out for a long-term contract. However, when that didn't come his way, he had to settle for the franchise player role.

Naturally, there were talks and murmurs about the necessity of the decision. Cowboys VP Will McClay shared the reasoning behind his decision on the "Doin' Alright" podcast.

"And we love George Pickens," said McClay. "Finding a way to field a team with 53 of the best players in today's day and age is very, very difficult. So you go through all of the contracts and the different aspects and all those different ways, and you put it together. That situation with George presented itself in such a way that we could do it that way and still keep our team together."

McClay's take on the Doin Alright podcast clearly shows they don't want to keep Pickens on a long-term deal—a surprising stance after his 93 receptions and 1,429 receiving yards last season.

As per Dallas insider Patrick Walker, the 2026 salary cap for the Cowboys is around $310.2 million. This also takes into consideration the $27.3 million cap hit from Pickens' franchise tag.

They also did not offer him a long-term deal, which would have reduced the cap. Since the Cowboys didn't opt for that route, they are still over the cap by $56.1 million.

That makes the possibility of Pickens staying with the Cowboys beyond 2026 highly doubtful.

George Pickens' future with the Cowboys is uncertain

George Pickens staying long-term with the Cowboys is an unlikely possibility at this point. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had already made an official statement that he will strike a deal with Pickens despite the cap space restrictions.

NFL writer Randy Guzi has also hinted on Sports Illustrated that with fellow wide receiver CeeDee Lamb present, the Cowboys won't hold on to him after 2026.

"With Lamb already playing under a high-dollar contract, there's a belief that Pickens won't be in Dallas beyond 2025," writes Guzi.

Lamb was the WR1, and Pickens was playing at the WR2 initially. After Lamb's injury, however, early in the Week 3 loss to the Bears, Pickens took charge. He stepped up for Lamb in the following three games.

The current management decision clearly shows that the Cowboys want to keep their offense intact. Even if it means they have to go over the salary cap.

Do you think the Cowboys should have offered George Pickens a long-term contract? Let us know in your comments.

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Written by

Sourav Ganguly

Edited by

Kalp Thaker