Hall of Famer Cris Carter has a reality check for the Dallas Cowboys, and it is aimed at the one-year franchise tag George Pickens is on right now. Through six games, Pickens has 33 catches for 428 yards and one touchdown, with his yardage ranking 12th in the NFL entering Sunday’s Week 7 games. Last season, he set career highs with 93 receptions, 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns.
“Pickens, the receiver, was a bad idea because now he’s working check to check, year to year,” Carter said on the “Fully Loaded” podcast, questioning the Cowboys’ choice to keep him on a tag that guarantees him $27.3 million this season instead of locking him into a long-term deal.
Cris Carter Highlights George Pickens’ Franchise Tag Issue After Cowboys’ 2-4 Start
Carter’s frustration started with the team as a whole. “Dallas’ offensive players were talking about breaking the NFL scoring record in the preseason. Collectively, they hadn’t done anything together, so I don’t know why they thought they were going to be that good. They are not a good team. They can’t run the ball,” he said.
In Week 6’s 23-13 loss at the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys ran 15 times for 48 yards, while Pickens caught six of his 11 targets for 73 yards.
Carter then turned to Pickens and what a one-year deal means next to the market around him: “It will eat away at your locker room, especially if we have multiple receivers getting beyond $30 million. Drake London in Atlanta is making $30 million, and my boy Flowers in Baltimore is making $30 million. They’re talking about how none of them has ever had the season Pickens had last year in Dallas.”
London’s extension averages $35.25 million annually, while Flowers’ averages $35 million.
Meanwhile, Carter minced no words about the message he believes the front office is sending: “So now Jerry and them are saying, ‘No, we don’t believe in what you did last year. We want you to prove it to us again.’ I knew that would be a problem, and as the season goes on and he doesn’t put up the numbers he’s looking for, it’s only going to get worse. It’s ugly.”
Pro Football Network’s NFL WR Impact Grade has Pickens at 79 so far this season, 19th of 82 graded wide receivers, and his Impact Grade for the full 2025 season was 90.6.
The Cowboys spoke about Pickens in far warmer terms in April. He signed his tag after the team said it would not negotiate a long-term deal with him this year. “I think George has just done an amazing job. I mean, he’s exceeded all expectations,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said.
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As for why Dallas held off, Jones said, “I mean, let’s start with the fact that it’s not easy having two receivers being paid top of the market.” He also pointed to “the newness of George being here.” Pickens arrived in a May 2025 trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who received a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder from Dallas.
CeeDee Lamb, of course, is the other part of the equation, with his contract paying him $34 million a year. Dak Prescott, meanwhile, makes $60 million a year.
Dallas has been here before. If there is no long-term deal, the Cowboys could tag Pickens a second time at a cost of roughly $33 million, or let him leave in free agency, potentially putting Dallas in line for a compensatory pick in 2028 depending on the NFL’s compensatory-pick formula.
Prescott and DE DeMarcus Lawrence each signed a long-term deal after a second tag. TE Dalton Schultz and RB Tony Pollard left in free agency after one season on it.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.