ESPN insider Dan Graziano, who has covered the NFL for three decades, had an interesting line this week in what was otherwise a pretty straightforward recapping of the situation between the Dallas Cowboys and star receiver George Pickens, who was hopeful of receiving a long-term contract from the team in free agency this summer but instead was hit with the franchise tag by the team. But the line was not so much about Pickens–it was about fellow star receiver CeeDee Lamb.
Last season, Pickens went for 93 catches and 1,429 yards, with nine touchdowns, a breakout season for the fourth-year receiver. He was paired with Lamb in most weeks, which certainly helped him get coverage advantages. Lamb finished with 754 catches and 1,077 yards.
Pickens was spurred by the early-season absence of Lamb because of an ankle injury–Lamb missed almost all of Week 3, then missed Weeks 4-6. In those four games, Pickens had 427 yards receiving and five touchdowns. While both Pickens and Lamb played well when paired together, there is no doubt that Pickens’ big season was boosted by Lamb’s injury.
CeeDee Lamb ‘Struggles With Health?’
And so Graziano floated a notion at the end of his commentary on Pickens and the Cowboys that raised some eyebrows: What if, once the franchise tag on Pickens expires after this season, the Cowboys decide they’d rather not invest in two receivers, but just one? And what if they decide that Pickens is that guy, rather than Lamb?
As Graziano wrote: “Who knows? If Pickens has another big year and Lamb struggles with his health again, maybe the Cowboys feel differently about both players a year from now. But they’ve decided the franchise tag is the right way to go with Pickens in 2026.”
Cowboys Could See George Pickens Differently in a Year
That phrase was raised by Dallas radio host RJ Choppy on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas: Might the Cowboys feel differently about Lamb and Pickens in a year? In other words, might the Cowboys feel they can only have one WR1, and that it should be Pickens or Lamb, but not both.
Lamb did miss nearly four games, but it was a high ankle sprain, suffered on the kind of play that knocks out most players at some time or another. That hardly makes him an injury risk. Don’t forget, too, that Lamb returned far quicker than expected from a concussion suffered against the Lions in Week 14. He’s showed some toughness.
Responding to the Graziano article, Choppy said: “I was like, if CeeDee Lamb struggles with his health again? Do we consider him injury prone? I know he got hurt, he got rolled up on. What are you going to do at that point? Find me the guy that doesn’t get hurt on that play.”
Cowboys Could Have to Pick Between CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens
But Graziano does have a point: There will come a time when the Cowboys will have to decide to either keep Lamb (who is 27) or Pickens (who is 25) but not both, or keep both and absorb the massive salary-cap strain that will involve.
While the presumption is that it will be Lamb who will stay put, maybe another great season form Pickens changes that. Lamb has not really been a health issue, but he did miss two games in 2024 with a shoulder injury that had bothered him for most of the second half of the season–he still wound up with 101 catches and 1,194 yards that year.
More important, Lamb will be entering the third year of a four-year, $136 million contract in 2027 and would certainly be an enticing trade candidate around the NFL. It’s a longshot–Lamb is pretty well engrained in Dallas at this point–but maybe there is another injury in 2026, and maybe the Cowboys do reconsider which guy is their WR1 going forward.
Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb Health ‘Struggles’ Could Bring Stunning Change: Insider