How did Pickens’ PIT tenure impact DAL contract?
Mike Florio and Myles Simmons discuss George Pickens accepting the franchise tender and question how the wide receiver's tenure in Pittsburgh impacted his contract situation with the Cowboys.
Video Transcript
There was that weird little thing that happened during the draft, right before the draft, the report from NFL Network that Cowboys receiver George Pickens would be accepting his franchise tender just a day or two after the Cowboys said there won't be a long-term deal.
And then the draft came and went, and Pickens hadn't accepted it, and then last week he did.
And I think there are some people in the media who are allowing themselves to get overly twisted in knots trying to discern some deeper meaning to what this move means on the broader chessboard between the Cowboys and George Pickens.
I think it's pretty simple, Miles.
George Pickens knows he's out of moves.
He's got one move.
Show up, make your 27.298 million, far more than anybody would've dreamed a year ago today that he would make, and I think we're closing in on the one-year anniversary of when he was traded to the Cowboys.
But even after he was traded, nobody's thinking this guy's gonna make 27 million in 2026.
Mm-hmm.
So you, you make your money, you have a big year, and you do it again next year.
That's all you can do.
That's all you can do.
And there isn't a ch- Like I, I've seen people say, "Well, whoa, is he gonna hold out of mandatory minicamp?"
Well, why would he do that and pay $100,000 in fines when all he had to do was not accept the franchise tender until- after the mandatory minicamp?
Right.
"Okay, I can't be fined if I don't accept my one-year contract.
I will be fined if I do and I don't show up.
Gee, what will I do?
How about I won't accept the tender until after the mandatory minicamp?"
I think this means he's, he's gonna be there.
And Brian Schottenheimer, the coach of the Cowboys, was asked about it over the weekend, "Are you gonna talk to him about the situation?"
Nothing to talk about.
He's, he's under contract.
Yeah.
He went from being not under contract to being under contract, and it was his choice.
He could have chosen to wait all the way until September and still gotten every penny.
He couldn't have been fined a dime for missing mandatory minicamp or a single day of training camp or a preseason game, and the fines become significant.
He's under contract.
He's embracing his reality.
There's nothing to discuss.
Why would we discuss it?
Discussing it is only going to complicate things.
It's very simple.
He's under contract, and he's gonna be there for 2026.
Don't overthink it.
I know that we wanna have some compelling stories, folks who cover the NFL and the Cowboys.
There's nothing more to talk about here.
He's on the team.
He accepted his tender.
He will be a Cowboy this year, and he'll be at everything.
There's no reason to think he won't be.
He's under contract, and he could've waited to be under contract until Labor Day weekend or beyond.
Yeah, and I think it, it speaks to some sort of It speaks to the nature, I think, of the relationship at this point between the Cowboys and George Pickens.
I mean, Pickens had a great year last year.
I mean, over 1,400 yards, right?
I mean, this is somebody who was not necessarily thought of as somebody who was going to be able to ascend to that level, even though it was very obvious when he was in Pittsburgh just how talented he was, you know?
But just some of the stuff that came with George Pickens, it seemed like, was just going to keep him from really ascending to that next level, and he was able to do it.
I mean, a lot of the time when CeeDee Lamb was on the field, some of the time when he was not on the field, right?
So it, it was really interesting to me to just kind of see that last year, and then now we pivot into 2026, and the Cowboys don't seem to wanna give him a long-term deal yet.
For whatever reason, they don't wanna do it, and there's plenty of reasons, I guess, that they could, they could choose from.
but if you're George Pickens, I think you're right.
It's, "Hey, this is the reality of the situation.
Why bleep around with it?
Let's just go in.
Let's be at the off-season parts that I need to be at.
Let's continue to develop a chemistry with Dak Prescott.
Let's continue to develop this offense, and let's see what we can do when we get to the regular season."
And, and you know, I don't know if that's just because of the relationship between Pickens and Prescott, Pickens, Brian Schottenheimer, Pickens, and whoever else that is in that building or if it's the advice he's getting from the agent, right?
But for whatever reason, he said, "All right, I am now going to be a Cowboys employee.
I am going to be under contract, and so that means I'm not skipping this stuff."
And you know, because otherwise, like you were saying, Mike, he gets fined.
So let's go, let's be all in, and let's see how far we can take this, and I, I guess that's the approach he's taking.
When you represent anyone in any setting, it's not one size fits all.
And just because David Moolugeta had a very aggressive, even if it was passive-aggressive, strategy that ultimately got Michael Parsons what he wanted, that doesn't mean that he's gonna do the same thing for every other client.
The best advisors, the best representatives look at the situation, gather all the facts, and then come up with a strategy based upon the unique facts and circumstances that each client is dealing with.
George Pickens is dealing with the fact that he had three disappointing seasons in Pittsburgh, that he was in an offense that didn't use him properly.
He had bad quarterback play, and that sparked some things that have still stuck to him, right or wrong.
Mm-hmm.
There's a reputation that preceded him into Dallas, and one year with 1,429 receiving yards, nine touchdown receptions, Pro Bowl, second team All-Pro, that didn't cleanse the palate completely around the NFL.
He was allowed to talk, David Moolugeta was, to other teams-As a franchise tag player, non-exclusive- Mm-hmm you're allowed to talk, and you get an idea of what the market is, and you get an idea of the hypotheticals.
Well, you know what?
If it wasn't Like, what do you think this guy would get if it wasn't two first-round picks?
This is, this is what a good agent can do for a client because the agent has relationships throughout the league, and they'll give him accurate and truthful information.
And, you know, the reality is this year, if another team would've wanted him, they could've signed him to an offer sheet.
Yeah.
And they could've given up two first-round picks.
I mean, the Ravens were gonna do it for Max Crosby.
So let me ask you this, Miles.
Okay.
If George Pickens had played for the Cowboys all four years of his career, and if he had had four seasons like he had last year- okay, if he had averaged 1,400 receiving yards a year, and he becomes a franchise tagged player who has the non-exclusive tender, and a team could sign him to an offer sheet, and if the Cowboys don't match, you give up two first-round picks.
If Pickens had done what he did last year for four straight years with none of these questions about attitude, temperament, whatever, do you think someone would've given up two first-round picks for him?
Probably, yes.
Because if would you do that for 'Cause my- the guy that comes to mind for me would be Justin Jefferson, right?
And would somebody have done that for a Justin Jefferson?
I, I think the answer is probably yes.
Especially a team residing at the low end of this year's first round- Yeah who expects to be at the low end of next year's, like the Patriots.
No-brainer.
No-brainer.
Yeah, yeah.
With the Patriots.
I mean, A.J.
Brown, I, I Hey, great, and it's probably gonna happen less than a month from now, but I'll take George Pickens.
I'll take, Justin Jefferson if he was available under those circumstances.
So here's my question.
What if Pickens has another 1,429 yard year and the Cowboys ex- apply the non-exclusive tender next year?
Well then- Is that enough?
I don't know.
Will that get somebody to jump?
it might.
Yeah.
I mean, like, I, I think what you The point you're making about a team that would be low first round, right?
You know, but if you do that, then you also are saying, "Okay, we're, we're gonna make George Pickens the highest paid receiver in football," because you don't just give that up, you know, for no good reason.
And are you prepared to do that?
I, I It- it's, it, it's interesting because, again, we know that George Pickens is talented, but if he's not gonna be in a situation where he can thrive, then y- you're not necessarily gonna be in the best situation probably, right?
I mean, that's kind for any big-time receiver.
It's They, they want the ball because they know that when they have the ball in their hands, they help their team win.
So it's an interesting hypothetical, Mike.
What do you think?
Well, and I don't know that you necessarily have to make him the highest paid receiver in the NFL next year.
If the Cowboys tag him again, it's a 20% bump over 27.298 million.
I believe the number is 32.76 million next year, which is still 10 million behind the market.
It is.
So- Yeah when you're, when you're David Mulugeta and you're assessing all the options, if you've got a team that is offering him, let's say, 37 five per year on a four-year deal with the first two years fully guaranteed, I mean, that's a hell of a bird in the hand.
And if you st- stay with the Cowboys and make 32, you're, you're carrying the risk for another year of injury and ineffectiveness.
Mm-hmm.
Because by year three, they could tag him again, but man, that number, that number gets a little out of control- Right if you could, if you tag a guy a third time.
So he, he would likely be one year away from the open market where he could become the highest paid.
You mentioned Tyler Linderbaum earlier.
One of the reasons why he got a 50% bump over the center market of 18 million a year all the way to 27 is because he's one of the best centers and he was available.
Mm-hmm.
The best players usually aren't available as unrestricted free agents.
So I think he could kick the can one more year and become the highest paid receiver in the NFL if he does it for three years in Dallas.
But my, my point is if we believe four years of playing at a high level in Dallas would've gotten someone to give up two first-round picks to get him now, will two years of high performance in Dallas be enough to make people forget about the Pittsburgh stuff?
Mm-hmm.
And I think you're right.
It needs to be a team that has a quarterback that would allow George Pickens to thrive.
It needs to be a team that is willing to give up two first-round picks and first round I, it's just weird that the compensation is just a first-round pick because you're talking about 32.
R- There's a huge difference between having the first overall pick and the last pick in the round, but- Oh, yeah any of them are good enough to be used to peel for a franchise tag player.
So there's a lot of factors go into it.
My, my point is one more year of playing like he played this year, I think the analysis gets complicated.
And it may be that when David Mulugeta had the ability to talk to these other teams to see if they were interested in trying to sign George Pickens to an offer sheet now, it could be that a couple of the teams said, "We'll do it again for one more year."
Mm-hmm.
"And let's, let's talk next year.
Let's see if he does it again this year.
Let's, let's, let's see more proof from George Pickens that he's, that he was a product of bad circumstances in Pittsburgh and that any great receiver would've reacted that way."
That's how Remember, I've defended him that way.
Like, Randy Moss- Yes would've done the same stuff in Pittsburgh with bad quarterbacks and an offense that would not get me the football.
Yeah.
Just get the ball in my hands and let me do my thing.
Yeah.
Well, like, yeah.
Like, that, that's all great receivers, right?
I mean, they, like you said, they, they want the ball in their hands because they make good things happen when it is there, right?
I mean, it's the same issue that I mean, you're talking about A.J.
Brown, right?
That, that, that's the same issue, you know?
When guys feel like they can contribute and help their team get to another level and they're not being able to do that, then yeah, they're gonna get, they're gonna get more and more frustrated.
So it is It, it's going to be interesting to see what the Cowboys offense evolves into over the course of this next season.
I mean, they've made so many investments in their defense, and rightfully so, but you can't just necessarily expect that, oh yeah, the offense is gonna continue to take off or is gonna be the, it taking off in the same way.
They, they've gotta tweak things.
They've gotta improve things.
And I, I think that You know, I, I was impressed with the way Schottenheimer handled things last year 'cause I didn't necessarily expect too much, you know, in that situation.
But he's gotta keep this thing going on the upward trajectory, so we'll see how this all plays out in the fall.
Yeah, I think Schottenheimer passed the test.
He looks the part, sounds the part, acts the part, and the defense doesn't have to be much better for the Cowboys to be serious contenders- Yeah
