By all accounts, the Cowboys are happy with the play of wide receiver George Pickens. How could they not be? Pickens has 36 catches for 607 yards (that’s fourth in the NFL), an average of 16.9 per catch (that’s second among players with 30 catches), and has a career-high six touchdowns heading into Week 8.
The Cowboys were able to pilfer Pickens from the Steelers after Pittsburgh tired of having the star receiver in coach Mike Tomlin’s doghouse, but also because he did not figure to be a guy the Steelers wanted to sign to a long-term deal. Pickens is in the final year of his contract, and is set for free agency next winter.
If he gets there, that is. The Cowboys do have the right to lock up Pickens on a long-term deal, and according to reporting from ESPN, they’re already trying to figure out if they can afford to do that.
George Pickens Projected for a $145 Million Contract
Pickens won’t be cheap. He has shown, especially in the span in which CeeDee Lamb was injured, that he can be a true WR1, and even if he is not among the top tier of receiver contracts, he is going to require a significant payday.
Spotrac pegs Pickens’ market value at $29 million per year and projects him receiving a five-year, $145 million deal. That’s tough to pay out when Lamb will be entering the second year of a four-year, $136 million contract. Asking the Cowboys to commit about $65 million per year to a pair of receivers might be excessive.
Other teams are doing it, though. And the force of the Cowboys’ offense this season might warrant consideration of such a move in Dallas.
GettyDallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.
Cowboys Having ‘Internal Discussions’
That’s the essence of this week’s report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who wrote, “The Cowboys have had internal discussions about a possible extension for receiver George Pickens, to the point where they’ve been examining the rosters and cap situations of teams like Cincinnati, Miami and Philadelphia, who are all paying multiple high-end receivers. …
“I don’t think anything gets done on this until after the season, but Dallas has been happy with Pickens since acquiring him in an offseason trade with Pittsburgh, and it is at least considering what it would look like to keep Dak Prescott’s wide receiver tandem together.”
Cowboys Offense ‘The Best’
Indeed, the Cowboys have been devastating offensively. Prescott is second in the NFL with 1,881 yards passing, with 16 touchdowns against just three interceptions. At 185, he has thrown the most completions in the league and has a completion rate of 71.4%, fourth in the NFL.
With 855 yards rushing, the Cowboys are arguably the most balanced team in the NFL, their top-ranked passing game bolstered by the No. 13 running game in the league.
Lamb, in fact, says that this version of the Cowboys offense is the best he has seen.
“This one is the best one I’ve been on, and I’ve been on some great ones,” Lamb said, via the Cowboys website. “It’s just the way that we can move around these pieces, these players, and everybody everywhere. We can line up faster than any. It’s tough.”
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