FRISCO, Texas — Paying CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens at the top of the market is a problem the Dallas Cowboys solved for this season and not beyond it, executive vice president Stephen Jones said Tuesday on DLLS Sports.
Jones agreed that Dallas built this roster with this season in mind, calling that “a fair statement.”
“You look at Dak, like anything, you don’t get to play this game forever,” Jones said. “You look at the situation we have with George Pickens going alongside CeeDee. Most teams. I don’t know of any teams that really can pay two top receivers, top of the market. So that’s going to be a real difficult situation as we move forward. We’ve managed to figure out how we can do it for this year.”
“Certainly, it’ll be, if everything works out the way we think it is, which CeeDee and George both have huge years again, then it’ll be a bigger challenge next year,” Jones continued. “George is really wanting to put back-to-back years on top of one another so it’ll help his market. And certainly I know at some point, as does every player in this league, will want to be rewarded with a long-term contract. So that certainly puts pressure on us to have a unique situation there.”
Pickens is playing the 2026 season on the non-exclusive franchise tag. Dallas applied the tag in February, and he signed the fully guaranteed $27.3 million tender on April 29.
Before the 2026 NFL Draft, the Cowboys said they would not negotiate a long-term deal with him during the 2026 season. The July 15 deadline for tagged players to sign multiyear contracts passed without an agreement. Pickens turned 25 in March and is scheduled for free agency in 2027.
What The Dallas Cowboys Have Committed At Wide Receiver
Lamb agreed to a four-year, $136 million extension in August 2024, keeping him under contract through 2028. The contract averages $34 million per year and includes $100 million in total guarantees. Of that, $67 million was fully guaranteed at signing, including a $38 million signing bonus.
Dallas reworked the deal in March 2025, creating about $20 million in cap room. Dak Prescott signed a four-year, $240 million extension on Sept. 8, 2024. His deal also runs through 2028 and pays an average of $60 million per season.
Dallas traded for Pickens in May 2025, sending the Pittsburgh Steelers a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder. The Cowboys also received a 2027 sixth-round pick in the deal. Pittsburgh originally selected Pickens No. 52 overall in the second round of the 2022 draft.
CeeDee Lamb And George Pickens In 2025
Pickens caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns in his first season in Dallas, all career highs. He made his first Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro. Through 65 career games he has 267 receptions for 4,270 yards.
Lamb played 14 games and missed three with a high ankle sprain. He finished with 75 catches for 1,077 yards and 3 touchdowns. The 3 touchdowns were a career low.
Together, Lamb and Pickens finished with 168 catches for 2,506 yards and 12 touchdowns. Dallas ranked second in the league in passing yards. Prescott finished with 4,552 passing yards while starting all 17 games. Dallas went 7-9-1, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker spent the previous seasons in Philadelphia and faced the pairing twice a year.
“At wide receiver, Christian Parker will tell you, who went against us twice a year, what a challenge that it was for the Eagles when they played us and he was on the defensive side of the ball trying to defense Dak and those two receivers,” Jones said, “not to mention our running game and Ferguson and Flournoy and that situation.”
On the preseason broadcast last week, Pickens said Lamb brought more creativity and more freedom out of him.
Dallas opens the regular season at the New York Giants on Sept. 13. Kickoff at MetLife Stadium is set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
