FRISCO, Texas — On March 9, the NFL's legal tampering period will begin for pending free agents.
The Cowboys will have their fair share of free agents on the roster, which of course they can agree to terms with and sign at any time before that period.
From unrestricted free agents to restricted and exclusive rights free agents, Dallas has a lot of decisions to make over the next month when it comes to how they want to construct their roster for 2026, and even beyond.
With that, we'll examine each pending free agent on the Cowboys' current roster, continuing with wide receiver George Pickens.
How He Got Here
Pickens took a connecting flight to Dallas with a layover in Pittsburgh. A former second-round pick of the Steelers out of Georgia, where he won a national championship, the human highlight reel remained exactly that in the black and yellow, but inconsistency of quarterback play led to an up-and-down rookie contract for Pickens in that outfit.
Things changed in a very big way when he was notified by Mike Tomlin and the Steelers' front office that he'd been traded to the Cowboys, the blockbuster deal landing in May 2025, after the Cowboys failed to secure a WR complement to CeeDee Lamb in last year's NFL Draft.
What He Did in 2025
Pickens hit the ground running in Dallas, both literally and figuratively speaking. His chemistry with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb was both immediate and evident, and it paid off like a lottery ticket for Brian Schottenheimer's offense — leading to a unit that boasted a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers.
It also led to Pickens earning his first-ever Pro Bowl nod after a career-high 1,429-yard season with nine touchdowns.Fact is, Pickens was a menace, both with and without Lamb on the field. When the latter was absent due to injury, there was Pickens carrying the load and doing all he could to help Prescott and Javonte Williams power the Cowboys to wins, even if the team fell short due to defensive woes. What did Pickens do in 2025? He proved he's one of the best in the league at his position.
Why He Could Stay
To put it plainly, he won't have much of a choice, at least not for 2026. The Cowboys will likely begin negotiations with Pickens' agent, David Mulugheta, at the NFL Combine with the hopes of getting a deal done ahead of free agency. If the two sides can't agree on a deal, expect Dallas to put the $28 million exclusive franchise tag on Pickens, keeping any other team from negotiating with him at any point in time.
That would buy the Cowboys until mid-July to strike a deal with the Pro Bowler before two things come into play. The first would be the fact that, after that deadline, they won't be able to negotiate again until next offseason. The second would involve questions on if Pickens would choose to play under the tag or to hold out an entire season, something that is highly unlikely.
Why He Could Leave
As stated, Pickens doesn't have much of a choice and it has to be stated that he does want to remain in Dallas. That said, this feels more like a problem for 2027, when the second franchise tag comes into play at a much more prohibitive price that will tap dance around the $34 million mark, and the Cowboys neither want to tango with that nor the fact it would mean Pickens is still not secured for the longterm.
But, but, but … if things go so horribly awry here that Pickens somehow makes it to unrestricted free agency, the reason he might leave would be the simplest of them all and require no overthinking whatsoever: money talked, and that other thing walked.
