The long-term plans for the wide receiver George Pickens are simply not around the corner for the Dallas Cowboys. 

Pickens was reportedly expected to sign his franchise tag ahead of the July 15 deadline, just before the 2026 NFL Draft, per Ian Rapoport. As per the X post by Football Forever, the situation is a bit complicated.

 “Cowboys star WR George Pickens, who did not report for the start of voluntary OTAs and has yet to sign his $27.3M franchise tender, either wants a long-term extension or a trade out of Dallas, per Adam Schefter.” 

The Cowboys placed him on a franchise tag worth $27.3M, retaining him for the 2026 season without a long-term deal, raising doubts about his offseason workout program.

Pickens had told the Cowboys of his intent to make that deal, but apparently did not sign the tag yet. Furthermore, he missed the first day of voluntary workouts on April 27.

“Look, he wants a long-term contract, or he would like a trade,” Schefter said during Monday’s episode of Pat McAfee Show.

Despite the ongoing contract uncertainty, COO Stephen Jones made it clear that the Cowboys have no plans to trade Pickens, though he left questions unanswered for a long-term deal possibility.

Stephen Jones Reaffirms No Plans for George Pickens

During Day 1 of the post-draft conference, Jones made it clear in an interview with Joe White of the Dallas News that they had no intention of trading George Pickens.

“We have no intention of moving George, and obviously, in our mind, we're fired up about it. He's ready to come in here and sign his tender. Hopefully, he's ready to go to work, but we have zero intention of moving George Pickens.”

This update about Pickens came a day after the Cowboys announced that the WR would ‘play under the franchise tag’ this year, with no long-term deal on the horizon, as said during the pre-draft conference of the Dallas Cowboys. 

Jones reasoned it saying that having two high-paid wide receivers on the team is the major reason for such a decision.

The Cowboys’ offense ranked second in the 2025 season in total yards, averaging 391.9 yards per game, according to Fox Sports. If Pickens remains unsigned, it leaves a major gap in the production for the Cowboys, even with the recent addition of WR Anthony Smith as the No. 218 pick overall.

Do you think the Cowboys will retain Pickens?

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi