Could George Pickens become the next Cowboys superstar traded away? Internal voices call the idea "idiotic," but whispers persist.
FRISCO - As we were first to report way back on Nov. 27 via a source, the Dallas Cowboys are planning to place the franchise tag on wide receiver George Pickens - at least as an "easy-path'' placeholder on the way to a possible long-term contract.
But now comes another wrinkle. What about a "tag and trade''? And what about accepting what we would consider to be far too cheap a return in a deal?
Respected colleague Ian Rapoport said on Super Bowl Sunday, "A tag-and-trade scenario is considered to be a possibility for Dallas.''
Furthermore, NFL.com's Rapoport reports, the Cowboys might be satisfied with accepting a second-round pick in a trade.
And one more thing, as Rapoport suggests that trading superstars for picks is a commonplace habit for Jerry Jones' Cowboys.
Let's handle one of these at a time ...
1 - Pickens is in the coming days slated to become an unrestricted free agent after finishing his first season in Dallas following last spring's trade with the Steelers.
Pickens was spectacular in the Dallas offense, setting career highs with 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns on his way to his first Pro Bowl appearance.
We can tell you that the locker room, the coaching staff and the scouting department here inside The Star believe trading Pickens is an idiotic notion.
"He's a game-changer,'' said team leader Dak Prescott. "Whichever way that they got to do it, he’s an important piece of this offense, an important piece of what we’re trying to do.''
The tag, due March 3, will guarantee him $28 million for 2026 while the two sides continue to negotiate up until July 15.
2 - We cannot explain what would motivate a source inside the building to tell this to Rapoport. Why "leak'' a willingness to accept just a Round 2 pick? Why not announce a demand for much, much more than that?
(A common answer: "That $28 million is too much.'' Our answer: Do a long-term deal and Pickens' 2026 cap impact will be less than $10 million - a bargain during the "Dak Window'' of contention.)
Answers?
Maybe owner Jerry Jones just wants to stir the attention-getting pot.
And yet, this week, Jones made a sort of verbal commitment to Pickens as a long-term Cowboy.
"I'm talking to George all the time by virtue of my excitement for him," Jones said when asked if contract extension talks have begun with Pickens (which they have not). "He's better than, as far as what he contributed to our team, showing the potential that he could contribute. I'm looking forward to getting things worked out so George can be a Cowboy a long time."
OK.
Or ... maybe agent David Mulugheta wants to "stir that pot'' with information (misinformation?) just as happened last summer with another of his high-profile Cowboys clients, Micah Parsons.
We (and Jones) never thought Parsons would be anything but a "Cowboy for Life'' ... next thing you know, he's manipulating his way into being traded to Green Bay.
3 - Rapoport doesn't err often. But his live-TV assertion that Dallas frequently trades superstars for premium picks is flat wrong. The Cowboys did it with Herschel Walker in 1989 and they did it with Parsons.
Twice in 37 years isn't very frequent.
Ultimately, this idea appears to be a nuclear option for all parties involved. We can paint a scenario in which Pickens' agent (desirous of a massive deal maybe near CeeDee Lamb's $34 million APY) convinces him to pout and sit out as a reaction to the tag, which eventually leads to the agent asking for permission to seek a trade.
But even in that event, a second-round pick isn't even close to the proper value.
So at the very least, whoever is concocting this "plan'' had better not be anyone in charge of anything here at Cowboys headquarters.