Stephen: We will not have contract talks with Pickens

[Aven8]

Now that’s how a first class organization handles player relations,

I’m sure the 31 real GMs in the league are taking notes.

If it works out and he plays on the tag it actually might be one of the smartest things the FO has done in a long time.

But they love them some WR’s just as much as Corners as well.

 

[baltcowboy]

I think the Rams have the best strategy. Just give the player what he wants. They trade for a guy like Jalen Ramsey, he gets a monster contract, then the whole locker room is happy and they play great. 2 years later they trade away Ramsey and accept the cap hit because it was worth it. They did the same thing to Todd Gurley and Marcus Peters and Brandin Cooks and Jared Goff and watch them do it to Trent McDuffie.

I don’t see how toying with players like this is good for the Dallas Cowboys. Do we want a disgruntled Pickens to demand a trade and then be forced to play on a lame duck deal while the trade demand is still pending? Do that benefit the 2026 Cowboys?

The Cowboys have been doing business like this for over 30 years now. People seem to forget that they did the same crap to Emmitt Smith and Micheal Irvin.

 

[Proof]

You've clearly never managed people.

I have / do. I go to bat for rough edged exceptional performers. Alienating them is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Verdict]

Translation. Play on the tag this year OR agree to a trade now.

 

[Floatyworm]

@ what point do they understand..
Stirring the crap pot does no good?

 

[Hawkeye0202]

It's only a drama filled preseason if Pickens brings the drama. It is 100% in his best interest to show up, give his best and be a positive influence in the locker room and on the practice field. Pouting and half arsing it only gets the football world shaking their collective heads and muttering "I guess all the talk about him was true".

Only downside for the Cowboys is the cap hit this year. I'd want to see him one more season before I committed long term. Bonus that he has a tiny bit of a reason to pout and show who he really is.

28 million bucks is a heck of a reason to get over yourself and get to work so you can positively market yourself into even more massive future earnings.

There are no victims here.

That just it.........we have nothing from Pickens to suggest he doesn't want to play on the tag or has no intention of signing it. Fans are assuming he's upset and will hold out. Keep in mind he and his have seen first hand his market value isn't what they may have thought.
Like you said.....sign the tag, prove them wrong with another CLEAN All-pro season and he can damn near write his numbers next year ( top 5 for sure )

 

[phildadon86]

Would you be excited for getting 27 million dollars? I would. That's a lot money for most people.

Excited people dont sit out of training or camp.

 

[Kwyn]

I actually like this approach. Guy is probably looking for $40 million a year based on who his agent is. He would need to give me another year of outstanding production and good behavior before I gave him that type of money. I’m a little scared that when he gets paid we might see another side of Pickens. His potential cost, draft compensation required in a trade, and past behaviors are probably why no team has approached Dallas about a trade.

Why not two more years?

Why let him ever be a free agent at all?

 

[StarLord]

i agree. and im not saying he would be right in doing this. But i just dont think pickens is the guy to have around when he thinks he isnt being treated fairly.
And i love George P.

Look this off-season has been too quiet and drama free. We needed this. Wouldn't be a Cowboys without something like this.

 

[LonnieElam]

Jerry is still butthurt with Mulugheta.

Well, considering he and Todd France bend Jerry over all the time while pulling his hair, I'd understand.

 

[StarLord]

This team should be all in chips on the table. This roster is designed (on paper) to win in the next two years or so. This half in half out bs is so annoying

What about our defense is designed to win in the next year or 2?! QWilliams I guess?

 

[tm1119]

Literally 0 reason to say this out loud right now…unless you rely on media drama to keep your mediocre football franchise relevant

 

[Kwyn]

Bingo......

Keep in mind that 2027 is the first year out on Lamb's contract. So this time next year, they could be at a crossroads about who to keep: Lamb or Pickens.

Also this could also be saying what many have said all along ........we can't have TWO WRs with long-term $30M+ contracts.

Think fans are overreacting a bit .......Jerry clearly said he and Pickens' agent have had a very good convo. That tells me they are probably on the same page about what's best for BOTH sides.

If he has another all-pro season, Jerry will Jatta him again. All-pro again in 27? Tag him a third time!

 

[Jarntt]

They are just so incompetent and clueless on how to run an NFL team

 

[StarLord]

This just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Jerry has done some dumb stuff in the past, but why announce this so early in the offseason? Training camp is still 4 months away. Now Pickens has no incentive to sign it anytime before September, and has the option to wait until week 9 if he’s feeling petty, which he has the right to with a statement so belittling like this

Feign negotiations, say “whelp, too bad we couldn’t come to an agreement”, show him hospitality and let him down easy, then pull this stuff next offseason when you kick him to the curb. It almost seems intentionally insulting to proclaim this to the media today. I don’t remember a single time a team tagged a player and then turned around and said they refused to entertain a long term contract before negotiations even really got heavy. So Dallas tagged him because they don’t want him around after 2026 and just want to take the lump sum franchise tag cap hit right now? The window ends in December or they don’t like him as a fit anymore?

I agree with you here, but I bet they are deliberately poking this bear to see how he responses. Does he Dak it up or does he go the way of Micah?

He doesn't seem as corporate as Dak..

 

[DandyDon52]

Which now begs the question, why on earth did the idiots trade for him in the first place?

Now that is a question the media should repeatedly ask the jones boys.
The whole idea was if he does good sign him.

If they dont like his agent they should tell pickens your on the tag twice and then traded unless you get another agent.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

If there is a run on WR's and someone offers Dallas a 2nd and 2027 3rd for Pickens....do the Cowboys say yes?

 

[Kwyn]

The Cowboys have been doing business like this for over 30 years now. People seem to forget that they did the same crap to Emmitt Smith and Micheal Irvin.

and Dez and CeeDee and Micah and Zeke

 

[MapleLeaf]

So Pickens is either about to be traded or it’s another drama filled training camp.

Man I wished Stephen would have just said, we are now focused on the draft and getting it done is our biggest priority.

 

[lopey]

I mean anyone who is supporting this FO anymore needs to get real. Why even talk about Pickens in public. Show your hand to everyone in the league. Just shut up. If the plan is nit to sign him and trade him how in gods name is it a smart idea to tell the world. Idiots