Dallas Cowboys pending free agent gets $30 million contract projection

The Dallas Cowboys have a big decision to make on wide receiver George Pickens.

Pickens is slated to hit free agency in 2026 and while Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has expressed interest in keeping the wide receiver around, Dallas will have to weigh whether or not it wants a large chunk of its salary cap taken up by two wideouts.

The Cowboys are already paying a significant sum of money to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and keeping Pickens won't be cheap and will limit the Cowboys' ability to improve its roster elsewhere.

When it comes to how much Pickens could cost, Bucky Brooks of NFL.com sees the veteran wideout garnering a deal that pays him $30 million or more annually.

With more teams seemingly willing to pay multiple targets WR1-level money in order to surround the franchise quarterback with several playmakers (thus accelerating the QB's growth), Pickens should break the bank as the league's next $30 million pass catcher.

It's certainly logical to think Pickens could hit that mark.

After all, he's having a career year and has been one of the most productive wide receivers in the NFL. Entering Week 17, Pickens has 1,342 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, with the former mark ranking third in the league.

But Pickens' behavioral issues will factor into the decision for the Cowboys and other teams if he hits the free-agent market.

Pickens has behaved better with the Cowboys than he did with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he certainly hasn't been perfect, as Pickens was benched for a series for missing the team bus ahead of the game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

We've also seen effort issues from Pickens, who looked disinterested in the Week 14 game against the Detroit Lions.

The most likely course of action for the Cowboys will be to franchise tag Pickens, which will cost $28 million and give them a few avenues to go.

The tag will give Dallas more time to work out a long-term deal with Pickens, but it will also allow the Cowboys to trade the wide receiver if they fail to get something done. It's also possible the Cowboys let Pickens play out the season on the tag, although that could create a situation where he holds out.

The Cowboys have so many roster needs going into the offseason that it simply does not make sense to extend Pickens on a long-term deal.

Dallas should tag and trade him and take the draft capital and money saved to make much-needed improvements on both sides of the ball.

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