Blogging The Boys
Pickens is flourishing in Dallas, but his future with the franchise is up in the air.
Pickens, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March, has seen the price of his next contract rise. He is expected to get more than $30 million per season.
The Cowboys may or may not be able to afford to keep him.
The franchise tag is expected to be $23.958 million for 2026, and Pickens likely would not want to play on the tag.
Pickens has found his home for this season, but his future is uncertain.
“I wouldn’t mind [staying in Dallas],” Pickens said Wednesday, via Tommy Yarrish of the team website. “The guys in the locker room are super cool; the energy’s great. But like I said, I always want to showcase my talents.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones generally likes to kick the can down the road, so to speak, and isn’t likely to have any contract discussions until after the season.
“We’ll weigh that,” Jones said Tuesday when asked about extending Pickens. “We knew full well that if things really went like we want them to go, that certainly we need to think about having some room available if we’re going to pay a second receiver at that level.”
This would be a huge boost with the injury woes the Cowboys have had lately.
FRISCO — Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked Wednesday what he needs to see from recovering receiver CeeDee Lamb to know he’s okay to play: “Yeah, if he’s breathing, I’d feel pretty good,” Schottenheimer said.
The Cowboys’ No. 1 receiver was one of 10 players listed as limited in Wednesday’s practice from The Star, leading to a possible return. Lamb missed the last three games with a sprained ankle, suffered in Week 3 at Chicago.
Also, returner/receiver KaVontae Turpin was limited with a sprained foot. Turpin is on target to play Sunday against Washington after missing the previous two games.
Rookie right guard Tyler Booker missed the last three games with a sprained ankle. Booker got some limited work in practice as well.
The defense in Dallas has to improve for the team to have any chance at a successful season.
“Anytime somebody’s running the ball like that, it’s definitely frustrating,” [Kenny] Clark said. “We’re all competitors and want to put our best foot out there. So anytime something like that happens, it’s frustrating.”
The veteran Clark, who was acquired from the Green Bay Packers in the Micah Parsons trade, said he’s been a part of...
