Overview
- Dallas applied the non-exclusive tag, which lets Pickens talk to other teams when free agency opens March 11, with the Cowboys holding matching rights or two first-round picks if they decline an offer sheet.
- The guaranteed tender is approximately $27.3 million after the NFL set the 2026 salary cap at $301.2 million.
- Team officials met Pickens’ representatives at the NFL Combine before filing the tag, with discussions described as preliminary.
- If no extension is reached by July 15, Pickens can play on the one-year tag or stage a holdout under league rules.
- Pickens earned the tag after a career year in 2025 with 93 catches, 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns, even as Dallas weighs a top-three cap hit on a roster already tight on space.