The Dallas Cowboys are just 4-5 and, worse than that, they are at a crossroads not just for this season but for the way the team is structured going into the future. Already with big commitments to receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott in the coming year, the team is weighing, too, what to do in the future about receiver George Pickens and coernerback Joey Porter Jr. It is unlikely that the Cowboys can afford both, and the team can only use the franchise tag on one or the other.
Pickens is playing on a one-year, $27 million franchise tag. The Cowboys traded for Porter after he could not come to an agreement on a contract with the Steelers last month. For the Cowboys, who are dealing with injuries to both guys, the question is … now what?
Cowboys Can Keep George Pickens .. or Joey Porter Jr.
It’s become a popular parlor game in Dallas sports circles to consider what the Cowboys should do about the pair. Todd Archer of ESPN weighed in.
Said Archer, in an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas: “I would say Porter has a better chance of being back than Pickens at the moment. The ankle thing, let’s see how that plays out and where that goes, how much he can play the rest of the season.
“The Pickens thing, it is going to be, you only have one franchise tag, do you use it on Porter, do you use it on Pickens? Can you really get a long-term deal with Pickens? Do you want to sign George Pickens to a long-term deal? They’ve gone 7-9-1 and now 4-5 with him. Not all of that is on him, obviously, I am not saying that. But if that’s not the piece that puts you over the top, then you have to look at it. That’s why you start thinking about tag-and-trade in March and what you can get then, and you start thinking about a compensatory pick. But if you ask me which guy I think will be back in 2027, right now, I would say Porter would have the better chance than George Pickens would.”
Options for Both Players
The big question will be what, exactly, Pickens and Porter are seeking on the open market. Before the trade to the Cowboys, Porter was said to willing to take a $28 million per year deal from the Steelers, but Pittsburgh would not guarantee it beyond one year. The Cowboys would likely be more willing to do that.
Pickens, coming off a 93-catch season in 2025, with a career-best 1,429 yards, was expecting to put up a great season in 2026 and cash in next winter with a major free-agent deal–in Dallas or elsewhere. The Cowboys could keep him, or they have the option of tagging him again, but at $34 million this time. As Archer mentioned, they could tag-and-trade Pickens, but in that case, they would certainly have to pay Porter, because they only get one tag.
Cowboys New Star Clouds George Pickens Future