FRISCO, Texas – Dallas Cowboys receiver George Pickens is planning to sign the $27.3 million franchise tag after the club declared it wouldn't negotiate a long-term contract this offseason, two people with knowledge of the decision said Thursday.
Pickens has yet to sign the one-year, fully guaranteed contract but intends to put the issue to rest as the Cowboys go into the NFL draft, the people told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the signing isn't official.
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The move by Pickens comes a day after executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said the Cowboys planned for Pickens to play on the tag this season. The sides would have had until July 15 to try to reach agreement on a long-term deal.
By signing the agreement, Pickens can be fined for not showing up at mandatory minicamp in June or for training camp in July. But getting under contract allows the 25-year-old to participate in the offseason program, which starts Monday.
Pickens, acquired last offseason in a trade with Pittsburgh, had career highs in catches (93), yards receiving (1,429) and touchdowns (nine) for one of the best offenses in the NFL last season. Dallas had one of the worst defenses in the league and finished 7-9-1, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.
The 2022 second-round pick out of Georgia thrived alongside CeeDee Lamb, who is going into the second year of a $136 million, four-year contract that currently ranks him third among NFL receivers with an average annual value of $34 million.
There is incentive for Pickens to take the guaranteed money under the tag because it's a huge payday compared to the total earnings of $6.8 million on his four-year rookie deal.
Quarterback Dak Prescott and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence played a season under the franchise tag within the past eight years for Dallas before reaching long-term deals. Tight end Dalton Schultz and running back Tony Pollard also played under the tag before leaving in free agency the next year.
Jones said the “newness” of Pickens' tenure with the Cowboys was a factor in the decision to stick with a one-year deal for now and not a longer contract.
Pickens’ talent was on display during three seasons with the Steelers, but so were enough instances of petulant or indifferent behavior for then-coach Mike Tomlin to question his maturity.
Brian Schottenheimer never took issue with Pickens publicly in his first season as a head coach after a quarter-century as an NFL assistant. But Pickens and Lamb were benched for the first series in Las Vegas after missing curfew following a casino visit the night before the game.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl