George Pickens enters the 2026 season on the heels of what was easily the best season of his young career. Selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Georgia product quickly proved himself as an above-average starter during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The wideout put together three solid seasons despite having a less-than-ideal quarterback situation and even recorded 1,140 yards and five touchdowns on just 63 receptions in 2023. However, the Steelers didn’t want to make a long-term commitment to the wideout and traded him to the Dallas Cowboys in the 2025 offseason.
This change of scenery proved to be just what the doctor ordered, as George Pickens responded with the best season of his career. Appearing in all 17 games while making 15 starts, the former second-round pick had a dominant campaign, finishing the year with 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns on 137 targets. All of these were career bests, and it looked like Pickens would enter free agency as the top wide receiver on the market.
Unfortunately for George Pickens, that didn’t happen. The Dallas Cowboys used the franchise tag to retain his services for the 2026 season, and they’ve shown no interest in giving him a long-term extension until he proves he can maintain this performance and stay out of trouble. While some players can hold out in situations like these, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Pickens is unlikely to hold out into the minicamp or training camp.
George Pickens Won’t Holdout; Will Play on Franchise Tag
It’s worth noting that George Pickens missed voluntary OTAs and reportedly shopped himself around during the 2026 NFL Draft, so he’s not exactly thrilled with his current contract status. However, it appears as though he’s accepted his current reality and doesn’t plan on incurring fines for missed practices when he has no realistic shot of receiving a long-term contract with the Cowboys or any other team in the league. For better or worse, he’ll play on the one-year deal in 2026.
George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb formed perhaps the league’s best wide receiver duo last year, and they should be as dangerous as ever with quarterback Dak Prescott throwing the football. While the team missed the playoffs last year, they should have a realistic shot at the postseason in 2026. Dallas had one of the worst defenses in football last year, and the unit should improve thanks to its offseason additions. While nobody expects the defense to be anything like the 2000s Ravens, even a league-average unit should be enough to at least make the Wild Card round.
