Pickens/Porter options?

[Kwyn]

If Porter continued to hold out another 2 games, he wouldn't get credited for this season & would still have a year left on his rookie contract in 2027.

The deadline is actually week 13.

Also, Porter already got full credit for weeks 1-3. When the Steelers formally “activated” him, he was in the clear.

The Steelers never fined him and listed him on the injury report every week. He collected his game checks every week.

Basically he outmaneuvered the system. The Steelers never negotiate after kickoff of game one, so at that point Porter made his play.

It’s not ideal and some fans will not forgive it but “holding out” or “holding in” is not a rarity.

 

[Verdict]

The money reason is because the Steelers have one of the strictest policies on guaranteed money. They’ll give a signing bonus but that’s about it.

As a “cash poor” team, they avoid guarantees as much as possible becsuse they cash flow limits their ability to put many millions into escrow on day one, which is what guarantees require.

The Steelers have a bad rep amongst players when it comes to contracts and player support. They also ranked dead last in the NFLPA players poll. Facilities, playing surface, training and recovery were all very bad.

Thank you for that insight. I was not aware of that.

 

[darthseinfeld]

The money reason is because the Steelers have one of the strictest policies on guaranteed money. They’ll give a signing bonus but that’s about it.

As a “cash poor” team, they avoid guarantees as much as possible becsuse they cash flow limits their ability to put many millions into escrow on day one, which is what guarantees require.

The Steelers have a bad rep amongst players when it comes to contracts and player support. They also ranked dead last in the NFLPA players poll. Facilities, playing surface, training and recovery were all very bad.

Thats surprising considering their fan base is 90% soccer moms. You would figure they would be rolling in cash with all the Sunday Funday Jerseys they probably sell

 

[Kwyn]

Thats surprising considering their fan base is 90% soccer moms. You would figure they would be rolling in cash with all the Sunday Funday Jerseys they probably sell

The Rooneys are absolutely billionaires but the entire family wealth is tied up in the team.

They are extremely cautious, to a fault, when it comes to outplaying up front money for anything at all.

So, they get tv money and ticket money and some stadium sponsorship, but not much else.

They don’t have the unique advantage the Cowboys have when it comes to merch revenue.

Cowboys were sued by the NFL and then counter-sued the for the right of to have full control of their merchandise. As a result, they make five times what the other 31 teams make.

All those other teams all share the same revenue pool.

all in the cowboys make maybe a half billion dollars annually due to their marketing, merch and sponsorships, which allows them to be more aggressive.

 

[Fmart322]

If the Cowboys were to crater this season then they should trade George Pickens and try to get the most they can for him. I would try whatever I could to hold onto JPJ because the better CBs are more difficult to find.
In a perfect world we'd be able to hold onto both GP and JPJ.

 

[Flamma]

If Porter continued to hold out another 2 games, he wouldn't get credited for this season & would still have a year left on his rookie contract in 2027.

I read where Pitts offered Porter $28m year & he was still holding out. The problem with Pitts is that they're really low on the guaranteed part of their contracts.

Pitt has been that way for a long time. Le'Veon Bell turned down a 5 year 75M dollar contract, or something close to it. On the surface, that's great for that time. But the only guaranteed money was the 10M dollar signing bonus. The Steelers can be very generous, but only if you're worth keeping. I can't blame them.

 

[Techsass]

The deadline is actually week 13.

Also, Porter already got full credit for weeks 1-3. When the Steelers formally “activated” him, he was in the clear.

The Steelers never fined him and listed him on the injury report every week. He collected his game checks every week.

Basically he outmaneuvered the system. The Steelers never negotiate after kickoff of game one, so at that point Porter made his play.

It’s not ideal and some fans will not forgive it but “holding out” or “holding in” is not a rarity.

Thanks. It was probably in your fan quotes post where I read that 2 games left bit.

 

[darthseinfeld]

If the Cowboys were to crater this season then they should trade George Pickens and try to get the most they can for him. I would try whatever I could to hold onto JPJ because the better CBs are more difficult to find.
In a perfect world we'd be able to hold onto both GP and JPJ.

Id prefer to keep Porter as well. He is a #1 CB. Pickens is a #2 WR here

 

[Fmart322]

Id prefer to keep Porter as well. He is a #1 CB. Pickens is a #2 WR here

Agreed

 

[KingCorcoran]

Why will Porter play out the season with us when he wouldn’t do so for the Steelers. I’m not saying he WON’T, I’m asking what would be his possible motivation(s) for doing that?

His agent recommending he play it out. Now that he’s with a team with another one of his clients, also heading for free agency, one of his guys is getting the bag from the Cowboys or one of his guys is going to be a valuable free agent.

Mr. Mulugheta, which is how Jerry might want to refer to him, is more concerned with his reputation than he is the Cowboys.

 

[john van brocklin]

I’m curious to see how Cowboys Zoners view the Cowboys options after the close of this season as it relates to Pickens and Porter. The Cowboys seem to have two players here that would be worthy of a tag and only one tag to use.

The Cowboys “could” obviously extend one or the other during this season, and it would be a moot issue. We could easily tag the other.

Obviously the Cowboys know things that the public does not. Porter wanted a new deal NOW and was willing to sit the season out to force a trade. The Cowboys have not agreed to extend him, at least at present, and it seems like Porter is willing to play now, at least for the time being, without a new deal.

I guess it is possible that Porter will play out the season on his current deal, but common sense says that seems a bit unlikely given his prior situation. Maybe he has agreed to give the Cowboys a small sample size of his play to decide whether ti extend him or not? I’d like to hear people’s views on that.

Assuming no in season extensions for either Pickens or Porter, what are the Cowboys options in trading one or the other after the season? How would a trade work of Pickens or Porter without them signing a new deal after the season, or being under a tag? I would assume that is not a possibility.

I would assume that the Cowboys would have or should have had a plan in place to not let Porter walk for a single 3rd (or 4th) round compensatory pick in 2028 for Porter.

Could Pickens be on the way out prior to the trade deadline in the 2026 season? I’d love to hear your thoughts on these topics. Thanks in advance.

Great questions!
With this wacky front office, it will definitely keep the offseason interesting!

 

[john van brocklin]

My guess is the reason Porter is okay playing in Dallas on his current contract is because the Cowboys can only franchise tag one player next year and they have two contracts to deal with.

That means they will franchise tag Pickens or Porter and the other one either gets a new contract or traded to a team that gives them a new contract.

Either way, the one that gets tagged will get a huge pay day for one season.

That said, given Pickens huge raise this year, he can (and I expect he will) sit out next year if he's tagged again until week 10 or so when he has to play to have the season count.

Can you franchise tag one and transition tag the other?
Their used to be 2 tags available.

 

[Reality]

Can you franchise tag one and transition tag the other?
Their used to be 2 tags available.

I'm fairly certain the transition tag only gives the team a right to match any offers and does not involve draft picks.

 

[LonnieElam]

In the end, it doesn't matter. This is why I sold my seat license/tickets. I KNOW I won't see another SB win, but at least it's not costing me.

 

[jaythecowboy]

Can you franchise tag one and transition tag the other?
Their used to be 2 tags available.

You only get one tag per year

 

[BobSacamano]

My guess is the reason Porter is okay playing in Dallas on his current contract is because the Cowboys can only franchise tag one player next year and they have two contracts to deal with.

That means they will franchise tag Pickens or Porter and the other one either gets a new contract or traded to a team that gives them a new contract.

Either way, the one that gets tagged will get a huge pay day for one season.

That said, given Pickens huge raise this year, he can (and I expect he will) sit out next year if he's tagged again until week 10 or so when he has to play to have the season count.

I hope he reads this and uses it as ammunition.