George Pickens’ Franchise Tag: Jerry Jones Signals Cowboys’ $28M Move After Dak Prescott’s Message

The Dallas Cowboys have officially placed a $28-million franchise tag on George Pickens after the former Pittsburgh Steeler managed to record a career-best season in his first year with the team. At first glance, that may sound like a rather costly move for Jerry Jones and his organization, but given the sheer amount of production that Pickens was able to provide them with, most will likely consider it to be a steal.

The 24-year-old was able to record 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 93 receptions this past season. All of those numbers mark career highs in their respective categories for Pickens, and while that would typically be enough to warrant a long-term contract offer from any team, the Cowboys are in a rather unique situation given their contractual obligations to their star quarterback, Dak Prescott.

Heading into the 2026 season, the veteran quarterback will carry with him a cap hit of $74,068,430, tightening the pockets of Jones, who has already developed a longstanding reputation for pinching pennies. According to Prescott himself, however, it was always “vital” that the team hold onto Pickens for as long as possible.

“It must be done,” Prescott noted when asked about retaining Pickens during the lead up to this year’s Pro Bowl. “I think obviously from Jerry to everybody down understands that, and one the impact on this offense and the team and the great player that he is. We’ve got to find a way to keep him here.”

The Cowboys had been hoping to find a complementary target for Prescott ever since the emergence of their alpha wide receiver, CeeDee Lamb, but that had been easier said than done. At first, Amari Cooper figured to be that guy.

When Cooper left just a year later, however, the former New Orleans Saint, Brandin Cooks, figured to be the next best option, but that didn’t work either. Heading into the 2025 regular season, the Cowboys found themselves lacking that extra bit of ‘oomph,’ or a sense of testosterone, on offense.

The combination of Prescott and Lamb had proven to be effective, but they still needed something else to get over the hump. As things stand today, that “something else” appears to be Pickens, hence the franchise’s willingness to spend nearly $30 million on his franchise tag.

It remains unclear as to whether Jones will actually offer the former Steeler a long-term deal, but what is clear is that he’s very much interested in seeing more of the offense that managed to score the seventh-most points of any unit in the league this season. Simply put, Jones likes what he sees; now he just needs to find himself another prominent figure on defense.