If Flournoy has a dynamic season, does it affect Pickens being here long term?

[big dog cowboy]

Bit of trivia.

That’s where the movie told you it was.

It was actually filmed in Indian Beach in Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach, Oregon.

 

[RonWashington]

Lamb & Pickens are speed where as Ryan Flournoy is a physical possession YAC receiver . Can’t compare the first two to # 19 . Personally the goal is a SB trophy I want all three on this roster to give opposing DC’s big headaches .

Didn’t Howie Roseman keep Smith Brown Goedert plus Barkley on the payroll to win a SB . The Jones brain thrust needs to keep the talent not send it out of town .

 

[JoeKing]

If Flournoy is good enough to justify walking away from Pickens, Flournoy isn't going to be cheap. He's also a lot older than Pickens.

Giving Pickens a 4-year deal that now takes him to age 29 is a lot better than giving Flournoy a 4-year deal starting in 2028 that takes him to 32

Not extending Pickens now remains the absolute worst strategy.

GP is 25, Flo is 26... so much for being "so much older". That wasn't hard to look up which tells me you're just talking out of your back side.

Not all starting WRs get paid the same, genius. Flo is cheap until 2028. You seem to be dismissing that fact. And he wouldn't get WR1 money when he gets a new contract in 2028.

 

[Kwyn]

I'll take 'things that aren't going happen' for $100.

You left out the good part!

 

[LouBrown]

GP is 25, Flo is 26... so much for being "so much older". That wasn't hard to look up which tells me you're just talking out of your back side.

Not all starting WRs get paid the same, genius. Flo is cheap until 2028. You seem to be dismissing that fact. And he wouldn't get WR1 money when he gets a new contract in 2028.

Flo turns 27 in October. He is a lot older in terms of how that contract ages.

No kidding. $30m will likely be the rate for a strong #2, which is what the argument that he will be.

 

[Relayer]

1. Salary cap management
2. How he continues to fit in with the franchise
3. How well he continues performing at a high level

All of the above will determine how long George Pickens remains on the roster.

1, Stephen manages it like it's his retirement account.
2, As long as he licks the right boots he's golden.
3, He's on his contract year. Dak will feed him.

 

[Coogiguy03]

My favorite time of the year.......... when backups become potential studs for us.

Flournoy is what he is. A backup WR, probably a #3 at best. Even with a good season, he's not Pickens, doesn't have the ceiling of Pickens, isn't going to be anywhere close to dominant as Pickens.

PS - That's not an endorsement of the need to resign Pickens after his year. He's going to be expensive and in a cap world, you can't just throw oodles of cash at any one position unless it's QB.

So was Miles Austin but we paid him nicely as well as Gallup

 

[Relayer]

The reality is the Cowboys will not commit to paying huge contracts to two high contract receivers.

They will do it this year because they actually save several million with the franchise tag and they want to put the focus on the defense this year instead of changing up the offensive skill positions.

Next year, the Cowboys will know one of two things .. They will know if having two high paid receivers helped them win a Super Bowl or not and they will know how good Flournoy is and whether he is ready to take that #2 slot next year.

Either way, I think if Pickens has a great 2026 season, he will end up with a high paying contract from another team next year.

The Cowboys will franchise tag him in that case but they will do so intent on trading his rights unlike this year when they were fine just paying him the tag price.

Pickens will get a huge raise this year and if he replicates his 2025 season, he will get a huge contract next season from another team.

The Cowboys will get draft pick(s) in return and everyone will be happy.

The only way I see Pickens playing for the Cowboys in 2027 is if for some reason he accepts a team-friendly contract (and why would he?) or something serious happens to Lamb near the end of the 2026 season.

The third option is they decide to keep him over Ceedee.

 

[Coogiguy03]

I agree with all of this somewhat........as mentioned, they are paying TWO WRs top money after this season. I'm just not convinced Pickens will be odd one out if they BOTH have an All-Pro-type season. Maybe it's just me but I sense stronger chemistry between Dak and Pickens

Maybe that's because he makes those under thrown passes look like great ones lol

 

[Reality]

The third option is they decide to keep him over Ceedee.

It's possible.

I think Lamb offers a wider range of skills the Cowboys use in their offense such as running out of the backend, end arounds, screen passes, etc.

That said, Lamb got a bad case of the dropsies last year so if he continues that, and Pickens keeps making those catches, things could shift.

 

[Relayer]

Use what resources? Pickens will only get cheaper. They have a ton of cap space right now if they want it.

If you let him go, you are creating a hole that requires either significant draft capital or significant dollars on another player.

But it fits in with Jerry's wack a mole team building philosophy.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Something to think about if Flo has an amazing year, building off some of the good he did this previous season. Does this affect Pickens long term, and Flo can end up being our #2? I know it's early and I'm not trying to crown Flo or down Pickens, it's just a thought! Please give your input

depends on how well he does. its a big difference being #3 WR and moving to #2 spot, where defenses will pay you a lot more attention.

 

[Relayer]

I don't disagree with that logic.

But tagging Pickens twice is handcuffing the idea of being "all in." If you extend him and create cap space, you then just have to eat dead money in a rebuild year anyway.

Tagging him 2 times to avoid paying him the same as you would have had to pay him last year and had cap flexibility. Sounds like something the Joneses would do.

 

[Kwyn]

GP is 25, Flo is 26... so much for being "so much older". That wasn't hard to look up which tells me you're just talking out of your back side.

Not all starting WRs get paid the same, genius. Flo is cheap until 2028. You seem to be dismissing that fact. And he wouldn't get WR1 money when he gets a new contract in 2028.

I don’t think you were getting the point he was trying to make

He’s taking about the relative amount of prime years you get each under contract where you can expect their best performance.

Fluornoy still has two years left on his current deal so he will will be 28 when he starts a new contract. Once Fluornoy gets to the end of a new deal he will be 32. Thats not young at all.

There’s also an assumption that Fluornoy still has significant untapped upside, while there’s a solid argument that what you see is what you get.

Age for first NFL game
Fluornoy: 24 years, 345 days!
Pickens: 21 years, 167 days

Fluornoy was old when he came into the league and his lack of distinction or achievement as a comparison is really no comparison at all

If genius Jerry would have done what he should have done, Pickens would be in the first year of a new contract at at 25 and be finished at 29. You’d get the entire meat of his prime and could then decide what to do.

 

[Kwyn]

Tagging him 2 times to avoid paying him the same as you would have had to pay him last year and had cap flexibility. Sounds like something the Joneses would do.

Operation Dipdoodle is already 50% complete!

 

[Relayer]

It's possible.

I think Lamb offers a wider range of skills the Cowboys use in their offense such as running out of the backend, end arounds, screen passes, etc.

That said, Lamb got a bad case of the dropsies last year so if he continues that, and Pickens keeps making those catches, things could shift.

I think Lamb is the better player. I'm not advocating for it. But this is the NFL and the age of social media where everyone with a podcast is an expert. Drama drives clicks. I think there are a lot of people who will magnify any mistakes for Ceedee just to drive clicks. His haters here and elsewhere will magnify it.

 

[Kwyn]

 

[shabazz]

Age for first NFL game
Fluornoy: 24 years, 345 days!
Pickens: 21 years, 167 days!

Can you additionally please provide the hours and minutes as well so we can get proper context?

Thanks in advance.

 

[JoeKing]

I don’t think you were getting the point he was trying to make

He’s taking about the relative amount of prime years you get each under contract where you can expect their best performance.

Fluornoy still has two years left on his current deal so he will will be 28 when he starts a new contract. Once Fluornoy gets to the end of a new deal he will be 32. Thats not young at all.

There’s also an assumption that Fluornoy still has significant untapped upside, while there’s a solid argument that what you see is what you get.

Age for first NFL game
Fluornoy: 24 years, 345 days!
Pickens: 21 years, 167 days

Fluornoy was old when he came into the league and his lack of distinction or achievement as a comparison is really no comparison at all

If genius Jerry would have done what he should have done, Pickens would be in the first year of a new contract at at 25 and be finished at 29. You’d get the entire meat of his prime and could then decide what to do.

He's still cheap until 2028. GP will be long gone by then.

 

[Relayer]

Do you think we will ever know WHY we went to him and said we're not doing a long term deal, like what's the real reason

I think this was their plan from the beginning if he balled out and they are sticking to it. I'm not saying it's a good plan. Just typical 2D thinking for the Joneses.

Did they put it into the contract? If not, why not? If the Cowboys tagged him after another big year, that would be 60 million over 2 season.... a BARGAIN. So why wouldnt they do it? But, who cares. We all know Pickens is trouble, and now that he has 27 million in th ebank, he will blow up and return to his trouble making ways.

He may even get arrested for domestic abuse. He clearly seems like that type. Then he will be in a cell net to Ruggs and the Cowboys decision have been made for them.

Don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel.

bahahhahahahahahahaha........ so lets use some improved numbers. Pickens has 107 catches for 1,560 yards and 13 Tds.

and you think Dallas trades him? bahahahhahahahaha, or better yet, lets him walk.

That's when Ceedee gets the pink slip.

The issue with flo is that I dont know if he can be consistent in a full time roll if pickens is gone.

People forget, Flo will have a good season for a reason.

I simply don't see a world where Flournoy replaces Pickens or Ceedee.

It's not even that I don't think Flournoy can be a #2 or wouldn't be worth a big contract - I wouldn't be shocked if he had 1,000 yards this year.

The problem is that moving from Pickens to Flournoy doesn't accomplish anything.

For him to get 1000 yards all the TEs are going to have to die or Lamb or Pickens are going to have to miss the season.

Keep in mind that this is just my opinion, but I think when they met with Pickens’ agent, this was the private agreement that was made.

The Cowboys get Pickens’ best effort for 2026 and avoid any drama.

And in return, Pickens hits unrestricted free agency next year.

I believe that’s why there was such a quick agreement and end to the speculation.


I honestly don’t think so. I think he knows what he stands to gain or stands to lose. I think you’ll see the best version of George Pickens in 2026.


Wow! This sounds harsh. And unwarranted.

So Jerry guaranteed he'd add guaranteed Comp in the FA market for him next year? That's the dumbest thing I've heard ever.

There’s 1 year and 4 months difference.

The difference as has been pointed out is the age difference during their next contract.

It's not 1 year of cap relief if Flournoy isn't going to have an 30m/yr AAV like Pickens will, though.

In my head (and obviously just projecting here) he could show he's ready for the number 2 slot and only cost around 12m/yr.

That's meaningful cap and future cap that can help build up areas that better correlate to deep post season success than being top heavy at WR.

If you value having two elite WRs then sure, maybe don't do that. But Pickens is a luxury on a team that has many needs, IMO.

Unless your QB needs 2x top receivers.