Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens has signed his franchise tag, but things still could get messy with Dallas’ front office. Former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joe Haden believes a holdout could be on the horizon if Pickens doesn’t get a long-term deal.
“ George Pickens definitely wants a long-term deal. I think it may get messy… [Maybe] a holdout,” Haden told Kay Adams on the Up & Adams Show.
Cowboys’ executive vice president Stephen Jones told Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio that the team expects Pickens to be at minicamp in June. He compared the situation to when Dak Prescott played on the tag in 2020.
Dez Bryant in 2015 was the last Cowboys player to reach a longer-term deal after being tagged for the first time.
“Haven’t been told that. Certainly, that’s what we expect ,” Jones said. “I mean, anytime a player signs a contract and the expectations, as we hold for all of our players, is when you sign up and you’re under contract and you’re expected to do what your teammates are doing. And certainly, you know, go back to Dak, I know he’s working with Dak and those type of things, but at the end of the day, you know, we will see how this thing plays out.”
Former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho warned the Cowboys that things could turn ugly. Pickens developed a reputation for being volatile during his time with the Steelers, who shipped him to the Lone Star State last offseason.
“The Cowboys just turned George Pickens into a monster — and they have no solution for the problem that they just created,” Acho said on “Speakeasy. “You cannot tell another grown man coming off a astronomical statistical season that he is going to get franchise tagged and y’all aren’t even gonna have discussions about it. And you’re gonna tell him that April 22? George Pickens is not your son who says, ‘Mom, how come?’ And you say, ‘Because I said so.’
“You don’t talk to grown men like that. … The dumbest decision the Dallas Cowboys could have made is remove any sense of hope that George Pickens is gonna get long-term money.”
Pickens will make over $27 million on the franchise tag next season. He’ll have to prove once again that he’s worth a big payday.
The Cowboys certainly got their money’s worth after trading a third-round pick to the Steelers for Pickens last offseason. He recorded a career-high 93 catches for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns in 2025.
Pickens’ 13 catches of at least 25 yards and 73 first-down receptions ranked in the top five in the NFL.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : George Pickens Cowboys Saga Could Get Really Messy
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