The Cowboys continue to say the right things in the media, with Stephen Jones revealing conversations that took place with Pickens.
The Dallas Cowboys, as expected, have placed the franchise tag on George Pickens.
With George's future with the franchise a big storyline ever since the regular season ended, for most, this was always going to be the first port of call in negotiations.
The tag is set to be $27.3 million for the 2026 season. The Cowboys have until July 15 to sign Pickens to a long-term deal; otherwise, he plays on the tag.
So either way, Dallas essentially has Pickens for the 2026 season, but as we know, both parties (we think) want to remain together for the foreseeable future.
But as is always the case, money talks.
Pickens could easily fetch $30 million APY, if not more, with his new contract, but it remains to be seen if the Cowboys are willing to offer that, or even surpass it.
We know CeeDee Lamb's $34 million APY is near the top of the market, and Pickens could ask for something similar.
But if you thought that things had gotten a little sour between Pickens and the Cowboys due to the franchise tag being placed on the Pro Bowler, well, you couldn't be more wrong.
Well, that's the deal at least according to Cowboys COO Stephen Jones, who was on the Rich Eisen Show, as he stated the tag is just the beginning of negotiations.
“Absolutely,” Jones said. “We're not putting any time frame on this, the most important thing is live in the present. We just love that George is going to be back. Jerry had a great visit with him yesterday.
"He was fired up that he wasn't going to be going anywhere.
"We all understand that, too economically guys probably would prefer a long-term deal, but the franchise tag economically is not bad, either. But he was very fired up about his future with us. We felt like he wanted to be in Dallas. He certainly said that to Jerry yesterday.
"Jerry said he was on Cloud 9 that he was going to be a Cowboy again.”
So again, all the right things are being said by the Cowboys in public, but what goes on behind closed doors is another thing.
We have to take Stephen's words at face value, and it does sound like George is happy to remain a Cowboy.
But how this plays out over the coming months will be fascinating.
Most want Pickens long-term, but money will be key.
Here's to a smooth negotiation that has No. 3 a Cowboy for the foreseeable future.