Getty

George Pickens #3 of the Dallas Cowboys

Before a busy and widely successful NFL draft night got underway for the Dallas Cowboys, there was an unexpected yet what seemed to be entirely positive development for the team and its offseason. After VP Stephen Jones declared on Wednesday that the team had no intention of talking about a long-term contract extension on breakout star receiver George Pickens, Pickens went ahead and did the inevitable: He agreed to sign the franchise tag offer from the team, securing a one-year, $27 million contract that ends his free agency and ends the threat of a holdout.

It did not, though, end the possibility of a trade. And for much of the run-up to Thursday’s NFL draft, that was the conversation around Pickens, the fourth-year breakout star in 2025 who notched 93 catches for 1,429 yards on the season, No. 3 in the NFL.

For now, it appears that possibility was just speculation. On Thursday, after the Cowboys selected Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence in the first round of the draft, Jones appeared before the media again and said firmly that Pickens was not being traded.

Cowboys Reached Out to George Pickens Agent

Part of the genesis of the Pickens trade chatter originated from Ian Rapoport, the NFL Media insider, who reported on the olive branch that the Cowboys extended to Athletes First lead agent David Mulugheta, who represents Pickens. Mulugheta also, of course, represents pass rusher Micah Parsons, and was at the center of discord that grew between Parsons and owner Jerry Jones last summer before Parsons was traded.

Rapoport wrote on Twitter/X, “Sources: The #Cowboys extended an olive branch to agent David Mulugheta of Athletes First, as owner Jerry Jones and COO Stephen Jones called him with both on the phone to discuss franchise tagged WR George Pickens’ future. The call was professional and cordial.”

By vaguely stating that Pickens’ “future” was discussed, speculation that the future would hold a move out of Dallas spread.

‘We Have No Intention of Moving George Pickens’

But after the Cowboys’ draft was complete, team honchos met with reporters and Stephen Jones shot down Pickens trade rumors. The goal, Jones said, was to get Pickens to sign the franchise tag contract, which he did. That gives the Cowboys a bargain season of Pickens, assuming he can match (or come close) what he did last year. The goal was not to tag him and trade him.

“We have no intention of moving George,”  Stephen Jones said . “We’re fired up about him signing his [tag], because it means he’s ready to come in here and get to work. … We have zero intention of moving [him].”

Cowboys Want to Keep Offense Rolling

The Cowboys have, arguably, the best 1-2 punch at wide receiver in the NFL, and given the fact that Pickens had spotty performance in his first three seasons with the Steelers, it’s understandable that Dallas wants to see whether 2025 was a Pickens fluke. But it does not mean a trade is coming.

The Cowboys, universally, have spoken highly of Pickens. As coach Brian Schottenheimer said last month, “G.P. loves it here, we love G.P.. We have plans for G.P. to be here for a long time, so we’ll let the business side of this thing play out and see where it goes.”

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney