‘Just Not Comfortable’ — ESPN Analyst Speculates on the Real Reason Cowboys Refused To Extend George Pickens
· Yahoo Sports
George Pickens will officially suit up for the 2026 season under his franchise tag after Wednesday’s deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term deals expired. With league rules preventing any contract extension until after Dallas ends its regular season, ESPN analyst and former NFL executive Louis Riddick explained why the Cowboys opted against locking Pickens into a long-term deal.
Louis Riddick Explains Why Cowboys Didn’t Extend George Pickens
After being seen as an inconsistent talent during his time in Pittsburgh, Pickens enjoyed the best season of his career with the Cowboys in 2025, recording 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns. His production placed him among the NFL’s top 10 receivers in every major receiving category, as he also earned a 90.6 PFN WR Impact score, ranking third among all wide receivers.
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PFN also ranked him No. 70 on its Top 100 Players list and ninth among wide receivers, praising him as a “gifted receiver” with an outstanding catch radius and elite ball-tracking ability. Before last season, he had never finished higher than 20th in PFN’s WR Impact rankings, and so his leap to third proved the significant improvement he made in his first year with Dallas.
However, the Cowboys are not yet satisfied with what they have seen in Pickens, as Riddick explained the hesitation over a long-term deal.
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“To me, this sounds like a situation that is setting up for 2026 to be George’s last season in Dallas,” Riddick said on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “They’re [Cowboys] just not comfortable going ahead and giving him financial security and signing him to a long-term deal… They’re just not comfortable going ahead and giving him the guaranteed money that he probably will get on the open market from some football team.”
That stance aligns with what ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in April, when he said negotiations on an extension had barely progressed.
“They’re nowhere with George Pickens right now,” Schefter said. “They are not really talking about an extension. They’re not close to an extension. They are not getting a deal done at this point.”
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Pickens became the fifth Dallas player over the last nine seasons to remain tied to a potential franchise-tag situation beyond the July deadline, joining DeMarcus Lawrence, Dak Prescott, Dalton Schultz, and Tony Pollard. Dallas eventually signed both Lawrence and Prescott to long-term extensions after applying the franchise tag again the following offseason.
As for Pickens, he is set to count $27.3 million against the salary cap in 2026. If the Cowboys choose to tag him again next year, the cost would rise to approximately $32.76 million.
Pickens is now expected to report to training camp and spend at least one more season alongside CeeDee Lamb. The 2026 season may be the defining year of his career, allowing him to boost both his value to Dallas and his standing on the open market.