The Dallas Cowboys made one of the bigger moves of the offseason when they acquired wide receiver George Pickens, hoping that his elite talent would outweigh the negative that followed him from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On the field, there’s no debate. Pickens is one of the best receivers in the league. For a Cowboys’ offense that was searching for help for CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott, the fit made sense.
According to ESPN, though, Pickens’ contract situation is already shaping up to be one of the more complicated storylines to monitor this offseason, with some issues possibly happening if a long-term agreement isn’t presented.
“The Cowboys are expected to franchise-tag Pickens, which would pay him around $28 million next season. But Pickens will want a long-term deal above that number, and if Dallas doesn't give him that, some around the league wonder whether he stays away from the team for a large portion of the offseason or even training camp,” Jeremy Fowler wrote.
From the Cowboys’ perspective, the franchise tag is logical. While Pickens was really good last year, it might be a decent idea to see if he can replicate that. Paying $28 million for one season isn’t ideal, but it protects them if he turns into a locker room cancer.
Regarding Pickens, the ex-Steeler is entering the prime of his career and likely views this as a good chance to secure a massive, long-term payday.
Dallas is already dealing with major financial commitments, and committing top-of-market money to another receiver on top of Lamb might not be something the front office wants to do, especially with how bad that defense is. At the same time, failing to lock Pickens in long-term could make this situation very ugly if he starts doing what we all know he can.
We’ve seen similar situations across the league, and they rarely go as well as anyone is hoping for.
It’s likely part of the reason why the Steelers wanted to get rid of him, too. Pickens is a great player, and so is DK Metcalf, but Metcalf seems a bit easier to work with and that’s important.