While Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones failed to add a genuine WR2 to pair alongside perennial Pro Bowler CeeDee Lamb in free agency or during the draft, he was able to swing a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers in early May to acquire the services of George Pickens, who racked up 3,141 yards and 16 touchdowns on 195 receptions during his three-year run with the team that made him the 52nd overall selection in the 2022 draft.

Naturally, there were some concerns from Cowboys fans about Pickens’ behavioral issues with the Steelers. And there were plenty who thought Jones gave up too much to get a player in the final year of his contract, as Dallas sent Pittsburgh a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick in the deal.

Thus far, however, Jones looks like a genius, as there have been no signs of Pickens being anything other than a model teammate. And the fourth-year pro has certainly been productive on the field through the first four weeks of the season, catching 21 passes for 300 yards with four touchdowns. With Lamb sidelined with a high-ankle sprain this past Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers, Pickens stepped up something fierce, racking up eight receptions for 134 yards and a score in the 40-40 tie.

Naturally, given how he’s performed thus far, there has been plenty of chatter about the Cowboys giving Pickens a new contract before he hits free agency next March. And during his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday, Jones addressed the idea and actually hinted that such a transaction could take place.

Jerry Jones sounds like he wants to keep George Pickens with the Cowboys

“He’s an exemplary teammate,” Jones said of Pickens. “He’s exemplary in his work preparation. You can see the results of that out there Sunday.

“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 (we could) at this time last year. … We got it. We paid a price for it. … We can do it now.”

Hmmm…now what could Jones be talking about with the “we paid a price for it” comment?

Micah Parsons jokes aside, Jones must know something everyone else doesn’t because, according to Over The Cap, the Cowboys currently have -$40,587,436 in cap space for the 2026 season and -$48,552,436 in effective cap space, the latter being the estimated figure Dallas will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster. Yes, those are minus signs in front of those numbers.

That said, we all know the 2026 cap figure will be larger than it is now and that contracts can be restructured to create more space. And the Cowboys will undoubtedly have to do some restructuring, as Dak Prescott’s cap number alone next year is $74,068,430, while Lamb’s comes in at $38,600,000.

Jones, of course, had to think about all of this when he was possibly preparing to pay Parsons, and it’s not as if Dallas hasn’t been in this position previously. So, that’s not really an issue.

What could be the issue, however, is Pickens wanting to test the market. He obviously proved on Sunday that he has what it takes to be a WR1, and he’ll likely want to see if he can be paid like one. So, we’ll just have to wait and see how everything plays out.