George Pickens has emerged as a vital asset for the Dallas Cowboys in his first season with the team, as he had a breakout game in week four on Sunday night. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave some insight on Pickens’ future with the team during an interview with 105.3 The Fan in Dallas.
“I’m proud to tell you that we’ve got some outstanding structure in our cap space that will allow us to do a lot of things that I didn’t think when we finished this time last year that we might have the room to do some of these things we’re talking about doing,” Jones said. “We paid a price for it, we had to not sign some players that our fans might have thought ought to be signed. On the other hand, we can do it now
This statement came after the hosts asked Jones about whether Pickens had a contract extension in his future. Jones strayed away from directly talking about Pickens’ potential contract, but this nugget does imply that Jones will be looking to spend big money next offseason. He discussed his admiration for Pickens as well:
“He’s an exemplary teammate, he’s exemplary in his work preparation and you can see the results of that out there on Sundays… he has different contortions as he’s catching the ball. He can just catch the ball in any set of circumstances,” Jones said.
So, although he didn’t confirm or deny that Pickens may have a big pay day coming in his future, these two tidbits combined are a good sign that Jones would be more than willing to shell out money for him come the end of the season.
Pickens No. 1 Receiver In Dallas With Lamb Sidelined
Ceedee Lamb suffered a high-ankle sprain in week two that will see him continue to miss time moving forward, giving Pickens ample opportunity to prove himself to the Cowboys as their WR1. He was outstanding in Dallas’ tie against Green Bay on Sunday night, catching eight passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
Pickens was acquired by Dallas from Pittsburgh in a trade over the offseason that sent two draft picks to the steel city.
The 24-year-old is playing on the final year of his rookie contract, meaning he will be a free agent in the offseason, certainly due a big amount of money.
Freed Up Cap Space From Micah Parsons Trade
Obviously, the “structure in the cap space” that Jones was talking about refers largely to Micah Parsons, who signed a $186 million contract with Green Bay. If Dallas had kept him, they would’ve had to pay him a similar amount, meaning cap space would not be readily available for Pickens, who will certainly command a healthy sum of money this offseason.
Dallas currently has over $32 million in cap space, second most in the NFL. If Pickens keeps performing like he has been, even when CeeDee Lamb is back in the lineup, it would be borderline malpractice for Jones not to spend the money to keep him around.
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