George Pickens turned one big Dallas season into a whole lot of money talk.
After arriving with the Cowboys in a 2025 offseason trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pickens went from high-upside talent with lingering questions to one of the most productive receivers in the league. He led Dallas in receptions with 93, finished with 1,429 yards, and scored 9 touchdowns, then stayed put when the Cowboys placed the franchise tag on him for another year.
Pickens could have played the waiting game and pushed for more, but instead he signed the one-year tender and set himself up to cash in later. That decision matters, because the receiver market has been climbing fast this offseason, and Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox now has Pickens pegged as the fifth-best free agent in 2027.
Knox’s view is pretty straightforward: Pickens still has to show he can do it again in 2026, and the old concerns from his Pittsburgh days haven’t disappeared. But if he follows up with another strong season, Knox believes he can land a deal in the same neighborhood as Drake London’s recent extension.
"However, Pickens will need to show that he can consistently produce at a Pro Bowl level to earn a top-of-the-market deal. His production fluctuated during his three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Pittsburgh was willing to trade him for third- and fifth-round picks last offseason," Knox wrote.
"Former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin also questioned Pickens' ability to be a leader following the trade, which probably won't be forgotten by some team decision-makers. If Pickens has another Pro Bowl season while continuing to repair his locker-room reputation, he should be able to match recent receiver deals-like Drake London's four-year, $141.1 million extension-on the open market."
Using London’s number as the guide, Knox projects Pickens at four years and $142 million, which would come out to $35.5 million per season.
Whether Dallas would actually go there is another matter. Stephen Jones recently cooled the idea of a long-term Pickens deal, pointing out that teams usually can’t keep two elite wide receivers at once. The Cowboys are already paying CeeDee Lamb $34 million per year, and they’re not expected to top that for Pickens.
Dallas could try to get creative with the cap, and there’s even a long-shot path where the Cowboys sign Pickens and move on from Lamb. But the most likely outcome is simpler: if Pickens puts together another season like 2025, a receiver-needy team could be the one ready to hand him the monster contract. And that deal might wind up bigger than Knox’s projection.
In Other News...
Cowboys Just Raised The Stakes On DaRon Bland And Jake Ferguson
The Cowboys have done some financial housekeeping, restructuring the contracts of Kenny Clark, DaRon Bland and Jake Ferguson to create a much cleaner path through the rest of the season. The moves opened up $19 million in cap space and pushed Dallas to $33 million in total room, giving the front office a lot more flexibility than it had just a short time ago.
Bland and Ferguson are the names that matter here beyond the bookkeeping, because the restructures also raised their dead cap hits and made an easy escape far less likely. In other words, Dallas has tied a little more of its future to both players while leaving itself with enough maneuvering room to chase a major addition if the right opportunity comes along, including a big-money defensive splash that would fit the kind of move this team has been eyeing. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Just Added A Risky New Twist To Their Tackle Battle
The Cowboys have been looking for ways to sharpen the edges of their offensive line battle, and the trade for Broderick Jones gives them another intriguing body in the mix at right tackle. Dallas sent draft picks to Pittsburgh to bring in a young player with real talent and a rsum that has already been complicated by early-career adversity, including a neck injury and stretches of uneven play. For a team trying to sort out its best five up front, Jones brings both upside and uncertainty.
What makes the move so interesting is that Jones has often looked more comfortable on the left side, even as the Cowboys are asking him to compete on the right. His technique and consistency have been part of the concern, and he is still working back strength after missing time, which makes his path to a starting job less straightforward than it might appear. For Dallas, it is another swing at finding the right answer at tackle, but it comes with the kind of risk that can reshape the whole competition. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Still Have One Roster Problem Jerry Jones Can't Ignore
With injuries and roster churn still shaping the back end of camp, the Cowboys are doing what every contending team does this time of year: scanning the league for useful pieces before the regular season locks the roster in place. The practice squad market has become part of that search, and Jabbar Muhammad stands out as one of the more intriguing names because Dallas can still use help at cornerback. The current depth chart has enough questions to keep the front office honest, especially with the team continuing to weigh how much stability it really has behind its top options.
It is also the kind of position where one move can quietly matter more than the splashier headlines around the team. Trade chatter has already followed Dallas in other areas, from the Maxx Crosby buzz to the ripple effects of the George Pickens deal and the Cowboys' own quarterback roster activity, but the cornerback conversation keeps circling back to need. For Jerry Jones, the unresolved issue is not whether there are interesting options out there. It is whether one of them is worth acting on before someone else does. [Read more 🡒]