George Pickens’ status remains uncertain following the status of his free agency. One option for them is to slap a franchise tag on him and extend his deal for another year, in the hopes of entering negotiations for a long-term contract. 

The other would be to trade him away in exchange for draft picks, something that the Cowboys have done in the past with their players. 

NFL Insider Ian Rapoport analysed this potential move on The Insiders podcast with Mike Garafolo. Rapoport said, “ Are the Cowboys going to get an offer for Pickens that would allow them to trade him? They have shown in the past a willingness to trade some of their best players for huge draft capital. They acquired him for a three. What if they franchise tagged him, he got a long-term deal that he wants, and they got a two back? Okay, that’s incredible value. I wonder if that is something that would be palatable for the Dallas Cowboys.”

The Cowboys had acquired Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers at the start of the 2025 season. Pickens had a great first season, covering 1,429 yards with 9 touchdowns.

If the Cowboys were to slap the franchise tag on Pickens, that deal would not come cheaply either. According to Over the Cap, the average value for a wide receiver in 2026 would be around $28 million. On the open market, Spotrac estimates that a receiver like Pickens could receive a five-year, $153.7 million contract ($30.8 million per year on average). 

Is a potential Pickens trade worth it for the Cowboys?

In response to Rapoport's comments, NFL Insider Mike Garafolo had a contrasting view. He pointed out that the Cowboys have been trading players in the hope of building a championship team. But if the Cowboys do not retain their best players, this goal would be difficult to achieve.

"At some point, you're trading for players and acquiring players with the thought of them being parts of a potential championship team. You're not going to get there if you keep trading them away,” Garafolo claimed.

Garafolo also issued a word of caution to the owners, Jerry and Stephen Jones. He said that George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb complemented each other and that trading away Pickens would put too much pressure on CeeDee Lamb.

"We talked about how much Pickens freed up things for CeeDee Lamb and vice versa, so if you trade him away, now you're back to who is going to complement CeeDee Lamb. Just proceed with caution, Jerry, Stephen Jones."

What do you think will be the Cowboys’ move regarding their star wide receiver? Let us know in the comments. 

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Written by

Shyam Hari