George Pickens Trade Window Shuts After Cowboys Let $27.3 Million Deal Deadline Pass
Updated
Updated · NBC Sports · Jul 16
George Pickens Trade Window Shuts After Cowboys Let $27.3 Million Deal Deadline Pass
3 articles · Updated · NBC Sports · Jul 16
Summary
Wednesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline left George Pickens locked into a one-year, $27.3 million franchise-tag season with Dallas, effectively ending any realistic chance of a preseason trade.
Any acquiring team would inherit only that 2026 contract and would be barred from signing Pickens long term until after Week 18, sharply reducing the value of any deal.
A second tag in 2027 would cost about $32.76 million, creating a two-year outlay of $60.6 million that could still trail the top receiver market now above $40 million annually.
Dallas had already signaled before the draft it would not negotiate an extension this year, pushing the real decision into 2027 or, at the latest, March 2028.
That delay could eventually force the Cowboys to choose between a major new commitment to Pickens and keeping CeeDee Lamb.