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By Jordan Sigler
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With star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb sidelined with a high-ankle sprain for the last three games, Dallas Cowboys newcomer George Pickens has ascended to the top of the team's leaderboard in receiving. Pickens has 32 receptions for 525 yards and six touchdowns.
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In the offseason, the Cowboys sent a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick. So far, Pickens has been more than worth the investment.
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However, the 2022 second-round pick is playing on the final year of his rookie contract. Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Cowboys have a new "contract dilemma" with Pickens amid his newfound success in Dallas. Florio doesn't think the Cowboys can extend Pickens because of the big contracts already given to quarterback Dak Prescott and Lamb.
"The day is coming soon when the Cowboys will have to make a decision: Extend him, tag him, or let him walk away as a free agent," Florio wrote of Pickens. "He’ll want a contract worth $30 million or more per year, and he’s proving that he’s worth it. The franchise tag for receivers in 2026 will surely be more than $25 million. (It was $23.958 million for 2025.)
"It will be difficult for the Cowboys to justify that kind of investment, given the resources already devoted to receiver CeeDee Lamb ($34 million per year)."
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During his appearance on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday morning, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the team would have to "look carefully at what we’re doing financially" with potentially extending Pickens' contract.
Florio has heard chatter in league circles about Dallas potentially shopping Pickens before the trade deadline on Nov. 4. But the NFL insider thinks the best move is for the Cowboys to apply the franchise tag to Pickens next year and trade him to another team.
"The better approach could be a tag and trade Pickens in early 2026, which would give them Pickens for the balance of the season," Florio wrote. "And if he finishes strong, Pickens could be worth even more later than he’d fetch when the trade deadline arrives in three weeks."
As much as Pickens has been beneficial to the offense, Jones must consider using the resources he'd need to keep the star receiver to add help for the defense in 2026. The offense is scoring plenty of points, but the team has a losing record because defense is giving up the second-most points per game in the league (30.7).
It'll be interesting to see how Jones handles this situation if Pickens continues to put up big numbers. It would improve Pickens' worth in the trade market, but make it almost impossible for the 24-year-old receiver to sign a long-term deal with Dallas.
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