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George Pickens #3 of the Dallas Cowboys
In the summer of 2024, news coming out training camp for the Dallas Cowboys was not dominated by the incoming draft class or the hiring of a new defensive coordinator. No, it was the contract holdout of CeeDee Lamb and the lack of a new contract for quarterback Dak Prescott. In 2025, the offseason was clouded by virtually the same situation, only it was the “hold-in” of Micah Parsons. Each was a tiresome distraction. And we can expect more in 2026 with George Pickens.
The Cowboys are in a different situation with Pickens, because they put the franchise tag on him, at $27 million for one year. Pickens is allowed to search out a deal elsewhere, but signing him would cost a team a second-round pick, or the Cowboys could just match the deal. There’s not a lot of incentive, at least as of now, for teams to make a Pickens offer.
If Pickens wants to play on the tag contract, he can simply sign it and that will be his contract in 2026. But given the fact that he was No. 3 in the NFL with 1,429 yards and had a career-high 93 catches, it’s reasonable that he wants a long-term deal and could hold out for it.
George Pickens, Cowboys Have a Deadline
That’s the prediction from Cowboys beat writer Jon Machota of The Athletic, who notes that Pickens and the team are headed for a bumpy offseason. There is no clear indication from Pickens that he will hold out for something better than a franchise-tag contract. But the expectation is that he will.
As Machota said on, “The One-Star Podcast,” Pickens’ options are limited but a lengthy holdout is first on the list. The Cowboys and Pickens have until July 15 to work out a new deal, and once that deadline passes, Pickens could simply sit out until the season starts.
George Pickens Likely to Play on Franchise Tag
Machota conceded that the Cowboys have the leverage and are probably right to want to see Pickens produce for more than one season–it’s worth noting, too, that by giving Pickens a tag deal, the team is simply operating within the confines of the CBA.
Said Machota: “I did not say he is going to be there for training camp. I did not say he was going to be there for preseason games. I said that they were going to play him under the tag. We might not see him until, possibly, Week 1. That’s totally in play, absolutely. And he is probably not going to be thrilled about that. But that’s the Cowboy way.
“There’s going to be plenty of drama. Just on that deadline, July 15, when it doesn’t get done, there’s going to be drama about that. I am just saying, when Week 1 comes, I don’t see him missing game checks or anything like that.”
Did Cowboys Suffer From Past Holdouts?
The bigger question is whether a Pickens holdout would affect the team. It’s hard to say how much Lamb missing nearly all of camp–the Cowboys finally gave him a new deal with a week to go that summer–affected the team, or how much the Parsons drama that resulted in a late trade hurt the defense last year.
But the Cowboys went from 12 wins in three straight years to seven wins each in 2024 and 2025, so it’s hard to the camp shenanigans had no effect. At the very least, they sapped morale a bit. At worst, they may have cost the Cowboys games.
Have no fear, we’re likely to see it all again in the coming months.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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