Cowboys say not negotiating with Pickens, WR to play under tag for '26

The Dallas Cowboys are not going to negotiate a long-term agreement with wideout George Pickens. At their pre-draft presser on Wednesday, Executive VP Stephen Jones gavae a lengthy explanation of the current state of things when it comes to the star wideout and his contract situation.

Jones flat out said that negotiations aren't going to happen and that Pickens is going to play the 2026 season under the tag.

"We’ve made a decision that we’re going to have George play under the franchise tag, which won’t be a first for us. So There won’t be negotiations on a long-term deal.That’s certainly not af irst for this organization and certainly wont be a first in the league in terms of this decision as we move forward. But whether it’s Dak Prescott who played under one and got tagged a second time, whether it’s DLaw, whether it’s Tony Pollard, we certainly had those situations.

We’re so fired up to have George on this football team, obviously he’s been here for a year. We gave up a third round pick for him and certainly he’s made tremendous progress in the year that he’s been here. I think he’d be the first to tell you this is a great situation for him playing with CD and Dak in coach Schottenheimer’s offense. He loves Coach Schottenheimer and what he brings to the table.

There’s a lot of things that go into that… let’s start with the fact it’s not easy having two receivers being paid top of the market. That’s stretch when you have other great players on your team. A quarterback that’s been here, being the highest paid player in the league for a few many years now. Certainly that’s part of it. The other thing is the newness of George being here. I think George has just done an amazing job.he’s exceeded all expectations… we wouldn’t have gotten him for a third-round pick. That’s a plus, a lot of these things, they make their way towards a long-term deal. But that’s the biggest part of it, between the business and the newness of it."