Jerry Jones, like all 31 other owners, will have some extra money to spend this offseason after the NFL's latest blockbuster salary cap update. Per the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero on Friday afternoon, "The NFL informed clubs today it is projecting a 2026 salary cap in the range of $301.2 million to $305.7 million per club, per source. That would represent another significant jump from this year’s $279.2 million cap number, and nearly $100M than the $208.2M cap in 2022."
The Dallas Cowboys may now have the means to re-sign George Pickens, who could be pushing $150 million on his next contract. Funnily enough, it was as recently as Thursday that Pickens was thought to be on a one-way ticket out of town.
As Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport noted, "inking Pickens to a massive long-term deal isn't necessarily a slam-dunk. The Cowboys are already paying CeeDee Lamb $34 million a season. Pickens' three seasons with the Steelers featured no shortage of highs and lows. And Dallas is perennially in salary cap purgatory—the team currently sits almost $40 million over the projected salary cap."
Not anymore. Now, a few moves could get the Boys some cap space. All of a sudden, the Jones family could be in a position to bring back Dak Prescott's biggest weapon during the 2025 season. Pickens (93 catches, 1,429 receiving yards, nine touchdowns) is not expendable in Brian Schottenheimer's offense.
Now, he doesn't have to be.
George Pickens Proved He's Worth Investment in 2025
There were worries about what Pickens would bring to the locker room after his stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was fined repeatedly, and he also had several off-field issues with the University of Georgia. Kirby Smart's Bulldogs were long synonymous with trouble despite winning.
It was a dice-roll what he'd bring to Dallas. Pickens has been everything as advertised, except for the question marks.
Nothing about the 2025 Cowboys offense needs to be changed. The team's defense is where the issues lie, and several promising young names were brought on, including former Philadelphia Eagles pass-rush coordinator Christian Parker as the new defensive coordinator, to address the real issues.
Give Prescott his elite playmaker back, and continue doing what the offense was doing, and hope this team's defensive woes will go the way of the ghost of Matt Eberflus past.
Jones now has extra money to use, with some help from the NFL's revenue continuing to soar to allow a salary cap jump.
Dallas still work to do regarding their cap situation, as they are currently -31 million under cap space, per Spotrac but this extra money gifted will help them when they get to the negotiations table with Pickens.