Despite arriving in Dallas with a history of dramatics in Pittsburgh, wide receiver George Pickens put on a show for Cowboys fans in 2025. At just 24 years old, he recorded a career year with 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 93 catches and was named a Pro Bowler for the first time.
Entering the offseason, Pickens completed his four-year, $6.75 million rookie contract and will be sure to earn an exponentially higher total when he eventually puts pen to paper. He hopes that will be with Dallas.
“I would love to [remain a Cowboy,]” he told reporters at Pro Bowl media day. “But when you can’t control it, you kind of just hope for the best.”
If owner Jerry Jones can successfully navigate this negotiation (there’s no reason to believe this will end up like the Micah Parsons situation… yet), then Pickens’ return will have massive ripple effects for the Dallas roster.
What a George Pickens extension would mean for his Cowboys teammates
“I think [an extension is] vital. I think it must be done,” Cowboys QB Dak Prescott said Monday. “I think obviously from Jerry to everybody down understands that, and one the impact on this offense and the team and the great player that he is, we’ve got to find a way to keep him here.”
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott talked about the importance of keeping George Pickens in Dallas today at Pro Bowl practice. https://t.co/MPpWzZEFa9 pic.twitter.com/wg83h7rC7C
— Jayna Bardahl (@Jaynabardahl) February 3, 2026
Of course, Prescott wants his top receiver to return. 2025 was the first campaign he had two 1,000+ yard receivers to throw to since 2019 (CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup). Despite missing the playoffs, returning that kind of firepower in 2026 will make Dallas an immediate threat in the NFC East.
I’m sure Lamb, who missed three games due to injury last year, would love to have opposing defenses focused on Pickens so it frees him up down the sideline. 2026 could be the first time Dallas has a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in back-to-back seasons since 2009 and 2010 (Miles Austin and Jason Witten).
All that being said, a Pickens extension would potentially threaten the status of depth options like KaVontae Turpin and Jonathan Mingo. The former has already found himself useful on special teams (even earning a Pro Bowl nod) but he could be relegated there permanently, especially if Jones gets creative at the draft and finds a young pass catcher to complement his top duo.
Let’s not forget about the rushing attack too. That was the most lacking area of Dallas’ offense last season. Javonte Williams put up 1,201 yards and found the end zone 11 times, but the Cowboys had no change of pace back to use when the passing game forced defenses away from the line of scrimmage.
If Dallas loses Pickens in free agency, defensive scheming gets that much easier, and Williams won’t be able to break free as often as he did in 2025. An extension will have massive implications for how opponents face the Cowboys.
Bringing Pickens back could mean the difference in securing the NFC East title and a playoff berth, or hitting the beaches in January yet again.
