Last season was an emotional rollercoaster for Dallas Cowboys fans. In the same year they said goodbye to a defensive superstar with the Micah Parsons trade, they were introduced to an offensive superstar with the George Pickens trade.
Pickens was a good player as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, recording 1,140 yards and five touchdowns in 2022. But he became a superstar in his debut season, catching passes from Dak Prescott, going off for a career-high 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns.
Now, the Cowboys face another high-profile contract negotiation with one of their faces of the franchise, this time it’s Pickens, who, as mentioned, is coming off a career year. Pickens, 24, is set for unrestricted free agency, but the Cowboys don’t want to just let their star receiver leave. They’d prefer to keep him.
Yet, as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport notes, the Cowboys could place the franchise tag on Pickens, then trade him to another team.
“Obviously, the Cowboys are going to franchise tag him (Pickens). Something we’ve known for quite some time. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Pickens is going to stay in Dallas. My understanding is that a tag and trade scenario is considered to be a possibility for Dallas. Actually, the value would make some sense here. Traded for him for a third-round pick. Maybe let’s say they could get a second-rounder; that would be really good value for Dallas. The Cowboys have shown a willingness to trade their star players for significant draft pick compensation. It’s an interesting situation to consider.”
Ian Rapoport on George Pickens
Rapoport added that Pickens shares the same agent as Parsons did, and those contract negotiations resulted in a trade out of town. Could history repeat itself?
While he’s sure to join the group of highest-paid receivers in the NFL this offseason, the team that considers trading for Pickens wouldn’t just be parting with draft compensation; they’d also be agreeing to sign him to a contract worth well over $100 million. Otherwise, if Pickens was under contract at a reasonable rate for multiple seasons, he’d surely fetch a first-round pick, as teams are always in the market for playmakers.
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