The Dallas Cowboys have two starters playing for new contracts this season, and one NFL analyst doesn’t expect them to keep both. Lance Zierlein, NFL.com’s draft analyst and a Houston radio host, predicted this week that Dallas will give cornerback Joey Porter Jr. a long-term deal and let wide receiver George Pickens leave in free agency.
“I don’t think they make this trade unless they’re going to hang on to Porter,” Zierlein said on the “Football America!” show with Dave Dameshek. “Porter, I think, will get the long-term deal and they’ll let Pickens walk.”
Why Zierlein sees Pickens as expendable
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His reasoning comes down to position. Dallas already has CeeDee Lamb, who caught 17 passes on 21 targets for 189 yards and the winning touchdown in Sunday’s 34-30 victory at Houston. Zierlein called Lamb “a one” and guessed the front office will decide “we can go find a wide receiver” because “it’s easier to find a wide receiver than a lockdown corner.”
The money points the same direction. Pickens is playing on the franchise tag at $27.3 million, and a second tag next year would cost about $32.8 million. He earned that number with 93 catches for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns in 2025. Through four games this season he has 18 catches for 225 yards and has not scored, and he saw three targets against the Texans while Lamb saw 21.
Porter cost Dallas a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder, and he is in the last year of his rookie contract. He started 41 games over three seasons in Pittsburgh with three interceptions and 31 pass breakups, and Zierlein called him “a legitimate man-cover corner” who is hard to replace. The Cowboys decided against an immediate extension and want to see him play first. His debut was limited. PFF charted him for 25 snaps in Houston, 20 of them in coverage, with a 61.3 overall grade.
Owner Jerry Jones has left the door open on both players. “There’s two to tango here,” Jones said of a Porter extension on 105.3 The Fan. “There’s the team and I being comfortable with making that kind of commitment.” On Pickens, Jones has said, per the team’s website, “Make no mistake about it, we have long-term plans in mind for Pickens.”
The Pickens decision will wait until January. Under the tag rules, Dallas can’t reopen long-term talks with him until after its regular-season finale. The Cowboys, now 2-2, host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.
