The Dallas Cowboys will have an interesting decision to make this offseason when it comes to standout wide receiver George Pickens. The 24-year-old Pickens is set to become a free agent after the Cowboys acquired him from the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this year.
The move to get Pickens has paid off as he and CeeDee Lamb have become one of the NFL’s most explosive duos. Pickens has racked up 58 receptions (83 targets) for 908 yards and seven touchdowns. If he continues at this pace, the Cowboys will either have to give him the franchise tag or a long-term deal.
Will Dallas do that? Who knows. However, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones made his intentions clear on 105.3 The Fan on Friday about how the organization feels about the young wide receiver.
“Of course we want George Pickens back. … You’d be crazy not to want to have him back and be a part of this thing,” Jones said via Jon Machota of The Athletic.
While this is great to hear if you’re a Cowboys fan, you also hope that the team isn’t just blowing smoke and will actually get a long-term deal done with Pickens.
Cowboys Must Walk the Walk with George Pickens
It’s not often that a wide receiver of his caliber and age becomes available. The Cowboys took the gamble and paid it off. However, they can’t play around like they did with Lamb negotiations because another team can and will swoop in.
Now, if you’re Pickens, you might not want to leave Dallas, especially considering the offense you are in and getting to play next to Lamb. But that’s not going to stop teams from inquiring if Dallas doesn’t get a done deal in the coming months.
Pickens, who had a reputation for himself in Pittsburgh, has pretty much done everything asked of him thus far with the Cowboys. When the team needed him to be the WR1 when Lamb went down with an injury, he stepped up and did his job.
And now with Lamb back, teams really have to choose how they are going to defend one of the most explosive passing offenses in the league. Dallas doesn’t have Micah Parsons' contract on the books, so they should have some money lying around.
According to Spotrac, Pickens’ calculated market value is a five-year, $146.7 million deal. That total value is higher than what DK Metcalf, Brandon Aiyuk, and Garrett Wilson have on their deals.
Still, if Pickens can get over 1,000 receiving yards and double-digit touchdowns before the end of the season, it will be tough for the Cowboys to go back on their words. Now, it'll be up to the Jones Family to prove they aren't all talk.