Cowboys aware of potential fallout of tagging George Pickens - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — With the Dallas Cowboys, in the words of executive vice president Stephen Jones, «leaning,» toward the franchise tag on Pro Bowl wide receiver George Pickens, the organization is also aware of the fallout from that potential decision.

While it has not happened recently when the Cowboys have used the franchise tag, players have opted to stay away from their team's offseason program, minicamp and even part of training camp.

«It crosses your mind,» Jones said from the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. «I mean a lot of the guys we've tagged participated in everything, Dak (Prescott) leading the way. He played under two of them. He never missed anything. Hopefully that'll be the case here.»

The Cowboys have until March 3 to decide to put the franchise tag on Pickens, which would cost around $28 million, but before that will meet with his agents this week in Indianapolis. To date, there have not been any discussions between the two sides.

From 2018-23, the Cowboys used the franchise tag each year: DeMarcus Lawrence (twice), Prescott (twice), tight end Dalton Schultz and running back Tony Pollard. They were able to reach multi-year agreements with Lawrence and Prescott after the players were tagged the second time.

The last time the Cowboys reached a longer-term deal on a first-time tagged player was in 2015 with wide receiver Dez Bryant.

«It can go either way,» Jones said. «So we'll just continue to really analyze the situation and see what's next.»

Last weekend, the Cowboys agreed to a three-year, $24 million deal with running back Javonte Williams. Last year at the combine they made headway on an $80 million contract for defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, who signed before free agency opened.

Jones said