It seems that no one knows what’s really going on between the Dallas Cowboys and star wide receiver George Pickens.
Multiple reports throughout the offseason claimed the Cowboys wanted to sign Pickens to a long-term deal, Dallas actually had no interest in signing Pickens to an extension, Pickens didn’t want to sign his franchise tender and planned to holdout, and the Cowboys were exploring trades for Pickens.
But now it turns out that the Cowboys actually are using the 2026 season as a tryout of sorts to determine whether Pickens is worthy of a long-term deal, according to team owner Jerry Jones.
“We will expect more earlier,” Jones told Yahoo Sports. “He will expect more. That he not only build on where he got to last year, the preparation will be out there happening as a major part in any series or any game. So I think from the get-go, he will have more to give in the plans of what we’re doing early and late in the season.”
Though he didn’t get the lucrative big-money deal he was hoping for, Pickens will play next season on $27.3 million franchise tag salary — a substantial raise from the $3.65 million he made last year.
Pickens had a breakout season last year, logging 93 catches, 1,493 yards, and nine touchdowns, and Jones wants to know that it wasn’t simply a one-year fluke before forking over the kind of money Pickens is looking for.
“This is great from our view,” Jones added. “For him as well, it lets him really extend what he’s got going right now in light of the fact that … when we got him, we got him for no other reason than because there was a long-term question. Through next year and this year, he’ll answer all those questions.”
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