The Dallas Cowboys completed the draft last weekend, but the biggest news may have come in their ongoing quest to sign George Pickens to a contract extension. The Cowboys used the franchise tag to prevent Pickens from hitting free agency after a breakout 2025 season, and it was assumed the two sides would try to reach a deal that would keep him in Dallas for the foreseeable future.
Those plans went out the window when the Cowboys' Stephen Jones revealed that the team had informed Pickens’s agent, David Mulugheta, that the team is comfortable allowing the star receiver to play on the tag next season. The plan is already backfiring as ESPN’s Todd Archer reported that Pickens “has not yet signed the franchise tender” as of Monday afternoon.
Shortly after Archer’s post, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero announced that the Cowboys are signing WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a one-year deal, and it may be a sign Dallas is bracing for impact, as Pickens’s contract negotiations could go down a dark path in the coming months.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling Could Be a Hedge in Pickens Negotiations
Jones’s comments from last week could have been labeled “Cowboys 101” when it comes to negotiating contracts with top stars. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb had to wait throughout the summer before signing big-money extensions leading into their respective contract years. In a similar case, Jerry Jones told reporters in March 2025 that the team had “hashed out” most details of a contract extension with Micah Parsons before dragging out negotiations into training camp and ultimately trading him to the Green Bay Packers.
While ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Cowboys “received verbal commitment via email from Pickens’ agent that he is signing the franchise tag,” he also added he has yet to put pen to paper. It’s also notable that Pickens shares the same representation as Parsons during those negotiations last summer, at least giving the appearance that Pickens could go down the same path.
After being acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, Pickens went off, making his first career Pro Bowl and earning Second-Team All-Pro honors by catching 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. That performance helped him earn a market value projection of $30.6 million per season, according to Spotrac, and the tag served as a reasonable bridge to a long-term deal.
But both sides want a deal that works for them. While the one-year, $27.2 million tag would work for Dallas, it may not work for Pickens, who could put his body and millions of dollars on the line by signing his tender. That could lead to a holdout and could be why the Cowboys called Valdes-Scantling.
Valdes-Scantling has been a serviceable receiver throughout his eight-year career, but he has never come close to the level Pickens reached in 2025. His career high in receiving yards came when he recorded 687 for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022, and he appeared to be washed as Pickens’s potential replacement, catching 10 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown in five games for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But Valdes-Scantling could be a bridge if Pickens holds out, and provides some insurance should things get ugly enough that Pickens is traded. There would at least be depth on the roster. Lamb and Ryan Flournoy are fellow projected starters entering camp, but the depth behind them is nonexistent. Dallas took East Carolina’s Anthony Smith in the seventh round of this weekend’s draft, but Jonathan Mingo, KaVontae Turpin, and Parris Campbell are underwhelming alternatives.
It creates a situation where the Cowboys must resolve the Pickens situation before the July 15 deadline for tagged players to sign long-term extensions. Pickens could still sign the tag, which could come with the headaches many have been expecting since he arrived in Dallas, leading to another long, dragged-out contract negotiation that could bleed into the summer.
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