PFT: Pickens wants to remain in Dallas but says his value has increased

[Hawkeye0202]

Pickens had his breakout all-pro year in 2025 buI think next season he’s going to take it to the next level.

I’d prefer an actual contract because I think the tag destroys relationships, but if the tag is all that King Dipdoodlen will offer then that’s what we’ll have to accept.

Question.... And I'm thinking about starting the thread on this
2027 Pickens was tagged and lamb contract has an out. Pickens had another All pro year without any character or off-field issues.

We can't afford to pay him top five salary and keep lamb. What would you do
Trade lamb and sign Pickens long-term or tag and trade Pickens and keep lamb.

To be honest it's not a slam dump that I would keep lamb I may want to keep Pickens instead

 

[exciter]

I'm not gonna read that what you posted too but I can tell you this not every player does it guys like Tom Brady did it other players do it why do you think T higgins and Devante Smith decided to stay as the WR 2 there's a gap between their salaries it is clear that if George Pickens wants to remain with the Cowboys even at $30 million which is the highest I'd offer him that's slightly higher than T Higgins or Waddle or Smith but they all remained and decided they didn't need to be the highest paid non quarterback or try to get top two or three money But if he's here on this team with Prescott and with Lamb who gave him the opportunity to have a season like he did he can come back and do that for the next three seasons And I don't think being paid 7th highest at wide receiver pay is a slap in the face technically it is starter money it's just not top starter money but it's damn far up the charts for you to remain on an offense that you can grow with and even get better..


Versus what where does he end up on another Pittsburgh another team that doesn't have quite the same type of bite or offense or a guy to protect him on the other side I mean he just went through that with Pittsburgh I don't see how people don't see this being paid $5 million less than you can get somewhere else It still says it's starter money it's top seven in the league $30 million is a lot of money especially given the circumstances and other players you said they're all like that now it's not 100 percent those guys took less to stay with their teams they could have been starters elsewhere..


That's the truth I watch those guys T higgins can be a starter on many teams and he said you know what i'm cool with being the number two There's a small gap in pay but he still gets to be a start sometimes because they pulling coverage depending on the game sometimes it's Chase eating and sometimes it's him that's what he needs to weigh here his value is still being paid for but if he needs to have his ego fed because he needs four to $5 million and to be the guy then let him go take a first round pick save that money and let's build our team right..

Higgins and Smith are both clearly #2 receivers.
There's still many critics in the Philly media who were critical of the contract as being overpaid!

 

[blueblood70]

Higgins and Smith are both clearly #2 receivers.
There's still many critics in the Philly media who were critical of the contract as being overpaid!

That's your opinion, i've seen them play ,I think they could be a starter somewhere else, But thanks for your opinion, it doesn't change my mind, but keep on keeping on...

Yeah, that's the bigger problem,

First of all, I don't care about this Philadelphia fans ,or media.... any more than I care about ours or really yours...

we're having a discussion, my opinion is Devante Smith could be a starter somewhere else, go look around the league, there's people super hungry for a starting receiver.. they don't have some of them look for years to find..

I mean the Giants finally found one then he gets hurt hell the Eagles were desperate enough to finally go out and get A.J. Brown but before that they were struggling to find a starter, now they have technically two it's 1A and 1B.

That's George Pickens ,because if he goes somewhere else by himself on his own it could just be like PB all over again, without a guy pulling coverages, where they can just game plan only for him, you don't know who his quarterbacks going to be these are the things he needs to think about, and what I think about sure he could be a number one somewhere,

but so can those other guys.

There's a reason that Brandon Ayuk who is in a very similar talent level as Waddle, Smith, and Higgins but somehow, you're trying to tell me that T Higgins couldn't start somewhere? you're not watching, if he was getting all the targets or at least a wide variety of them ,he'd have big numbers too..

He Was just smart enough to stay where he's comfortable and still be well paid like super paid top 10 money.

You're getting top 10 money to be a number two, you must be really good But the fact is there's 32 teams and what 200 receivers at least, you're trying to tell me that these guys are in the top ten or 12 in pay, being the seconds on a team,

they're not good enough to start somewhere else ,

yeah, i'm saying you're wrong...

 

[gimmesix]

Question.... And I'm thinking about starting the thread on this
2027 Pickens was tagged and lamb contract has an out. Pickens had another All pro year without any character or off-field issues.

We can't afford to pay him top five salary and keep lamb. What would you do
Trade lamb and sign Pickens long-term or tag and trade Pickens and keep lamb.

To be honest it's not a slam dump that I would keep lamb I may want to keep Pickens instead

I think any scenario that includes the bolded part is not realistic. Lamb's contract includes four void years, so his $28 million base for 2027 can be restructured as bonus reducing his $41.6 million cap hit by more than $20 million. The first year of a new deal also is generally structured to be the cheapest, so keeping both Lamb and Pickens might not cost us more than $30-$35 million in 2027.

Now, they can balance the deals for a few years with restructures but eventually it would get untenable to keep both, probably by 2029 or so.

 

[CowboysLakerBamaFan]

Let's not kid ourselves......he's getting tagged.

Yep. Which of course means we'll have an extremely unhappy star WR on our hands.

(And please , no lame "He won't be mad, thats like 25 mil for 1 year!" Posts.... players hate to be tagged, and that's a fact. Signing bonus is king)

 

[CowboysLakerBamaFan]

He can take the tag and bet on himself or take Stephen's modest long-term offer, probably in the $28-30 range.

Or option C.

 

[CowboysLakerBamaFan]

Someone has to want him

Are you new around here? Other teams HAVE to accept our trade offers, whether they like it or not.

Nobody can resist the power of "How bout dem..."

 

[exciter]

That's your opinion, i've seen them play ,I think they could be a starter somewhere else, But thanks for your opinion, it doesn't change my mind, but keep on keeping on...

Yeah, that's the bigger problem,

First of all, I don't care about this Philadelphia fans ,or media.... any more than I care about ours or really yours...

we're having a discussion, my opinion is Devante Smith could be a starter somewhere else, go look around the league, there's people super hungry for a starting receiver.. they don't have some of them look for years to find..

I mean the Giants finally found one then he gets hurt hell the Eagles were desperate enough to finally go out and get A.J. Brown but before that they were struggling to find a starter, now they have technically two it's 1A and 1B.

That's George Pickens ,because if he goes somewhere else by himself on his own it could just be like PB all over again, without a guy pulling coverages, where they can just game plan only for him, you don't know who his quarterbacks going to be these are the things he needs to think about, and what I think about sure he could be a number one somewhere,

but so can those other guys.

There's a reason that Brandon Ayuk who is in a very similar talent level as Waddle, Smith, and Higgins but somehow, you're trying to tell me that T Higgins couldn't start somewhere? you're not watching, if he was getting all the targets or at least a wide variety of them ,he'd have big numbers too..

He Was just smart enough to stay where he's comfortable and still be well paid like super paid top 10 money.

You're getting top 10 money to be a number two, you must be really good But the fact is there's 32 teams and what 200 receivers at least, you're trying to tell me that these guys are in the top ten or 12 in pay, being the seconds on a team,

they're not good enough to start somewhere else ,

yeah, i'm saying you're wrong...

They're starters now!
They're just both clearly #2s!

 

[blueblood70]

They're starters now!
They're just both clearly #2s!

No they're not they're number twos on the team they chose to remain if they would have went elsewhere they would have been a 1 not clear too I remember when City Lamb used to be accused of being a clear number two you remember all that nonsense he needed Amari Cooper like people think he needs George Pickens he doesn't he's shown every year even when he's the guy and the only guy not even a run game not another number two on the other side of him he had a blow up year

Yeah the same type of posters like you used to explain that about CD lamb that some of you are saying that Pickens is better than CD lamb forgetting that CD Lamb has done it without George Pickens he's done it without Amari Cooper but neither one of them has had any consistency in their game without having another guy on the team to draw coverage that's what a clear #1 looks like one that can do that without the help of others..


Yeah you're right on the current teams they are on they are the number two But if they were to leave and go to another team that needed a receiver in a bad way they 'd be number ones and they 'd have success..

It's nice you think that if you didn't watch them you see the T higgins could be a star on another team and that's why they paid him what they paid him and that's why if George Pickens decides to stay here he has to take a smaller contract sure he can be a clear number one somewhere else but can he do what clear number ones do without the help of somebody else because the answer is no if you use Pittsburgh...

But that's OK you think that I remind folks that they are starters they can be a clear one you're talking about the difference between an elite player but let me see George get paid and then do it when he goes elsewhere in a different situation different quarterback different players...

 

[exciter]

No they're not they're number twos on the team they chose to remain if they would have went elsewhere they would have been a 1 not clear too I remember when City Lamb used to be accused of being a clear number two you remember all that nonsense he needed Amari Cooper like people think he needs George Pickens he doesn't he's shown every year even when he's the guy and the only guy not even a run game not another number two on the other side of him he had a blow up year

Yeah the same type of posters like you used to explain that about CD lamb that some of you are saying that Pickens is better than CD lamb forgetting that CD Lamb has done it without George Pickens he's done it without Amari Cooper but neither one of them has had any consistency in their game without having another guy on the team to draw coverage that's what a clear #1 looks like one that can do that without the help of others..


Yeah you're right on the current teams they are on they are the number two But if they were to leave and go to another team that needed a receiver in a bad way they 'd be number ones and they 'd have success..

It's nice you think that if you didn't watch them you see the T higgins could be a star on another team and that's why they paid him what they paid him and that's why if George Pickens decides to stay here he has to take a smaller contract sure he can be a clear number one somewhere else but can he do what clear number ones do without the help of somebody else because the answer is no if you use Pittsburgh...

But that's OK you think that I remind folks that they are starters they can be a clear one you're talking about the difference between an elite player but let me see George get paid and then do it when he goes elsewhere in a different situation different quarterback different players...

Higgins was given the non exclusive franchise tag twice. That gave his agent ample time to get a feel for what his actual value was around the league.
That value was clearly that of a #2!

 

[Q_the_man]

I don't understand the outright ignorance of Dallas fans. Always screaming to get rid of any talented players in favor of draft picks. But at the same time, these same fans scream and cry about how Jerry is the worst general manager in the NFL.

Yet the answer is always to gut the team of it's best talent and give a bumbling 83 year old GM more picks to screw off. And to boot, the same fans share the same amnesia and always talk about giving up more talent in hopes of additional draft picks to build the defense. Yet, this GM has not been able to field a competent defensive roster especially at DT and Safety in over thirty years.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.

If Pickens was home grown, I would say sign him in a minute but we all know that Pickens can play disinterested at times same as CeeDee. 65-70 million a year for 2 WRs is alot of money especially if we wanna be active in free agency.

I just dont see Jerry paying Pickens 35 mil a year and I can't see Pickens being happy playing on the franchise tag. A tag and trade. Add 2 young players and if Dak is really a MVP type QB, he should be able to function without 2 #1 WRs. Dak already has a pro bowl WR and TE.

If we sign Pickens I would be happy, as we keep a great talent and if we trade him, I'm happy with that as long as we get a 1st or a 2nd and 3rd.

 

[ConstantReboot]

If Pickens was home grown, I would say sign him in a minute but we all know that Pickens can play disinterested at times same as CeeDee. 65-70 million a year for 2 WRs is alot of money especially if we wanna be active in free agency.

I just dont see Jerry paying Pickens 35 mil a year and I can't see Pickens being happy playing on the franchise tag. A tag and trade. Add 2 young players and if Dak is really a MVP type QB, he should be able to function without 2 #1 WRs. Dak already has a pro bowl WR and TE.

If we sign Pickens I would be happy, as we keep a great talent and if we trade him, I'm happy with that as long as we get a 1st or a 2nd and 3rd.

We can certainly sign Pickens. Even at $30–32 million, it is achievable and can fit within our cap space. Just push that money down the road. I don’t see why we can’t have two No. 1 receivers. Both Seattle and the Rams have them. Why can’t we?

 

[DarkVader33]

We can certainly sign Pickens. Even at $30–32 million, it is achievable and can fit within our cap space. Just push that money down the road. I don’t see why we can’t have two No. 1 receivers. Both Seattle and the Rams have them. Why can’t we?

Seattle doesn’t have two ones and Davante only cost the rams 21 mil this year I believe.

 

[ConstantReboot]

Seattle doesn’t have two ones and Davante only cost the rams 21 mil this year I believe.

Cooper Kupp is there other receiver.

Davante is also regarded as their #1 along side Puka. The Rams was smart and offered Davente whats his worth. Why hasn't the Cowboys offered anything to Pickens yet?

 

[DarkVader33]

Cooper Kupp is there other receiver.

Davante is also regarded as their #1 along side Puka. The Rams was smart and offered Davente whats his worth. Why hasn't the Cowboys offered anything to Pickens yet?

I like Cooper Kupp but he is no longer a number one. Not even close. And if Davante was still considered a number one, he would’ve commanded way more than 21 mil. He’s still really good but has lost a step.

 

[speedkilz88]

Seattle doesn’t have two ones and Davante only cost the rams 21 mil this year I believe.

Adams' avg salary is only 22 million a year (2 yr deal) His cap cost was 12 million for 2025, 28 million for 2026 and 4 million in 2027 void year.

 

[phildadon86]

He can take the tag and bet on himself or take Stephen's modest long-term offer, probably in the $28-30 range.

Do you know who his agent is by chance?

LOL.

 

[kskboys]

Or........................................

Pickens played really well to get a contract, and will curl up into his weird little fetal position once he gets paid!!!!

 

[Rayman70]

He will go where he gets paid the most. Period.

 

[KingCorcoran]

Or........................................

Pickens played really well to get a contract, and will curl up into his weird little fetal position once he gets paid!!!!

He will show the same degree of commitment to the Cowboys as they show to him. Nothing more. He just played fours years at a discount. Now he wants what he thinks is deserved. The team that pays it is the team that gets his best efforts.