Cowboys news: George Pickens to play on franchise tag in 2026

Why George Pickens playing on the franchise tag is the best option for Cowboys – Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News

Did the Cowboys make a wise decision regarding George Pickens?

FRISCO — One of the best moves the Cowboys made this offseason occurred last week. The front office informed George Pickens’ agent, David Mulugheta, the wide receiver isn’t getting a long-term deal.

For now.

The Cowboys want to avoid any more contract mess when it comes to their star players. Pickens is scheduled to play under the $27.2 million franchise tag for the 2026 season.

Cowboys officials indicated Wednesday the conversations were cordial with Pickens and Mulugheta. Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones conducted the phone call with Mulugheta and everyone involved, at least from the team side, is good with how things turned out.

Considering how things went with Micah Parsons last year, when an verbal agreement between the sides turned sideways and ended with the Cowboys trading their best player before the season, this seems to be the best possible outcome with Pickens.

Cowboys open to trades before, during and after 2026 NFL Draft – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com

Dallas is receiving calls about possible trades.

FRISCO, Texas – Similar to the Cowboys’ 2026 pre-draft press conference, which featured an appearance from former President Bill Clinton and the news that Dallas will have WR George Pickens play on the franchise tag in 2026, the NFL Draft is a whirlwind.

What could create a storm in the 2026 NFL Draft is trades, and the Cowboys have not shied away from that being a possibility in the hours leading up to the draft, while it’s going on, or after the dust settles.

“You could imagine getting a call right now and making a trade,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “Picks or players, you can imagine that. That hasn’t usually been our experience, it has to happen when a team gets the urgency of having a player within striking range with where their pick’s going to be, we all understand that. But certainly the nature of having extra picks in that first round gives more credence to some options here, and one of them would be [trading] up or down.”

Jones followed up by saying that the Cowboys had already been receiving trade calls from other teams ahead of the first round of the draft, which begins Thursday night. However, it doesn’t appear that Dallas is necessarily in a push to pick up the phone and explore a trade up scenario.

“I don’t know that,” Jones said when asked if the Cowboys would make calls to move up in the draft. “They’re usually, candidly, better coming in than going out. The results are better for us.”

That being said, Jones didn’t shy away from the possibility that Dallas could be aggressive in making some sort of move in order to get a player they feel like is a difference maker.

“We’re in a position that we can do some things, flexibility, that allow us if that opportunity were there and we could do a now thing regarding the financial of it, we’ve probably had more flexibility than we’ve had in years past.” Jones said.

Stephen Jones might’ve just revealed Cowboys’ draft night trade strategy – Jeleel Grandberry, The Landry Hat

There’s several possibilities when it comes to what the Cowboys will do on Thursday night.

Dallas Cowboys’ Stephen Jones hints at possibly trading back in the 2026 NFL Draft

Dallas mostly did what all decision makers do, speaking in a way to make it clear that all options are open. But Stephen Jones noted that moving up and back could both make sense for the franchise. Jones emphasizedthat it’s not a set thing that Dallas will pick twice in the first round on Thursday.

He said that scenarios exist where the Cowboys could pick up additional selections, and still have the privilege of choosing twice in the first round. But it’s also possible that the team could be motivated to move up and get a special player in their eyes, sacrificing Dallas’ second pick.

It’s also important to note that the two picks aren’t necessarily a package. Each pick is its own entity, so the franchise essentially has two different trade opportunities. The Cowboys could stay put at 12 and trade up or back with the 20th pick, or vice versa.

The only thing that’s clear at this point is that Dallas is open to exploring all paths. While the Cowboys are seemingly entertaining everything, their eventual decisions will ultimately be influenced by everything else that happens around them.

Daily Discussion Question: What do you want to see happen today?