Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys decided to place George Pickens on the $27.3 million non-exclusive franchise tag after the 2025 NFL season, which was eventually signed by the wide receiver on April 29, 2026.
The decision, however, was pretty predictable despite Pickens' career-best NFL season.
George Pickens recorded 1,429 yards on 93 catches with nine touchdowns, earning him Pro Bowl and Second-Team All-Pro honors. Despite the numbers, the Cowboys made the franchise tag decision to avoid open-market competition and also buy time for long-term negotiations and another opportunity to evaluate him.
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The question is: What are the Cowboys looking to evaluate after Pickens' career-best season? One of the reasons is Pickens' discipline issues, and the Cowboys wide receiver has had several of them in his career.
Late in the 2025 season, the Cowboys decided to bench George Pickens after he missed the team bus on game day in Las Vegas. Other instances include him picking up fines for taunting, with one of the most notables ones came against Arizona, when he was fined $17,389. Discipline is one of the issues. Another thing the Cowboys may be assessing whether Pickens can be consistent for another season.
Addressing George Pickens' situation, Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones sent a clear message to him, saying, "we just feel like, you know, we had George for a year and just felt like, you know, it was in everybody's best interest and who knows, it may be that it's in George's best interest to put two good years back to back. And you know, George knows where where the issues are."
"And they're not malicious. I mean, he's a hell of a player. He's a hell of a man. And you know there's just as we all do have things that we can improve upon," he added.
George Pickens has certainly taken the franchise tag decision in stride and emerged as one of the Cowboys' biggest stars in training camp.
