Insiders drop update on George Pickens’ future as Cowboys face major decision

George Pickens has exceeded every expectation placed before him since joining the Dallas Cowboys in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason.

Pickens enters Week 13 with career highs in receptions (67) and receiving touchdowns (8). He's also 86 yards away from his career high in receiving yards, with 1,054 through the first 11 games.

More importantly, he's avoided any of the drama that plagued him during his time with the Steelers. Seen as an excellent teammate who has put the aerial attack on his back when asked, Pickens has Dallas interested in keeping him around long-term.

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The question is how that comes to fruition. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano recently discussed this, with Fowler stating a franchise tag would give the Cowboys plenty of flexibility, but he wonders how Pickens would react to this.

George Pickens and the franchise tag

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens reacts after making a catch against the Las Vegas Raiders. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"A tag would be fascinating, because while some players embrace it, my sense is Pickens' camp would strongly prefer a long-term contract. But it would give Dallas the flexibility to negotiate with Pickens through the offseason or potentially execute a sign-and-trade," Fowler wrote.

Fowler also points out that Pickens' agent, David Mulugheta, is the same agent who took part in the failed Micah Parsons negotiation. Graziano doesn't believe that will impact this discussion, but also wonders if Pickens will demand his true value, which might be more than Jerry Jones is willing to pay.

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"I don't think the Parsons situation will have any effect on the Pickens negotiations. But the Cowboys always cite long-term salary cap concerns when confronted with another big-money negotiation. With Lamb, Prescott, Odighizuwa and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams all signed for big numbers, I'm sure you're going to hear that stuff from Jerry Jones again," Graziano wrote.

"I believe Dallas would do a long-term deal with Pickens if he would do it for a team-favorable number -- if he wanted to be the DeVonta Smith to Lamb's A.J. Brown, for example. But to your point, Jeremy, I imagine Pickens has his sights set higher. The way he has played, he ought to."

Pickens has proven himself a viable WR1, even when working alongside CeeDee Lamb. Teams will be lining up to pay him to fix their passing game, regardless of the red flags from his Pittsburgh tenure. The question is whether Dallas will be willing to give him a fair offer, or if he's priced himself out of their plans.

Dallas Cowboys wide receivers George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb react during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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