Dallas, TX
Open Market: Pickens’ future in Dallas dictates free agency approach at WR
(Note: The content provided is based on opinions and/or perspective of the DallasCowboys.com editorial staff and not the Cowboys football staff or organization.)
FRISCO, TX — Re-sign George Pickens. Read that first sentence as many times as is necessary, Dallas Cowboys. Not only has he wildly disproven the narrative that attached itself to him during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but what he put on film with a capable quarterback in All-Pro Dak Prescott was nothing short of jaw-dropping.
Pickens is an alien talent, and a locker room gem; and he’s only 24 years old, so beloved by his teammates in Dallas that CeeDee Lamb is willing to rework his multi-year contract to keep the duo together for the long haul.
Now, all of that having been said, free agency is a strange beast, and in the event the Cowboys opt to move on from Pickens — something no one should plan on seeing happen, by the way — due diligence requires I take a look at options in free agency that could potentially step in and keep the offense from taking a huge step in the wrong direction…
… because the depth chart will need more than CeeDee Lamb and Ryan Flournoy.
Welcome to this year’s Open Market series, beginning with a look at free agent options at WR.
What’s Here
(Market value, when available, provided by Spotrac)
George Pickens: Make no mistake here, Pickens is the most important free agent currently in the building in Dallas, and he’s also atop the list for some other clubs as well. The latter fact is why the Cowboys are expected to place the exclusive franchise tag on him — a tidbit that isn’t exactly news, by the way, regardless of which of your favorite national talking heads pretends it is on social media for engagement — considering I’ve said as much many times, and for months now.
If the tag (projected to land at a fully guaranteed $28.8M) is placed on Pickens, a newly-crowned Pro Bowler coming off of a career-best season with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, view it as a placeholder to get a deal done before the mid-July deadline without outside interference. It would behoove the Cowboys to get a deal done quickly though, to keep most of that tag expense freed up for free agency shopping in March. (Market value: $30.6M annually)
Jalen Tolbert: The former third-round pick grew from being a deer in headlights as a rookie to a viable WR3 option in Year 2, but things never truly materialized consistently for Tolbert after that point. Still young and talented, there’s a good chance a split is needed, as it would allow Tolbert a fresh start elsewhere and the continued development in Dallas of Ryan Flournoy who, after a breakout season in 2025, is the definitive WR3 on this roster — to the point it forced Tolbert to the inactives list for much of last season.
I simply don’t foresee Tolbert being willing to re-sign to battle for the WR4/WR5 role, having not fared well in doing so previously but, again, he’ll likely get a shot somewhere, and it’s a spot the Cowboys can also effectively address in the draft or with the development of in-house talent like Jonathan Mingo and/or Traeshon Holden. (Market value: $3.8M annually)
What’s Out There
Note: These players will be unrestricted on March 11, barring a newly-signed deal with their incumbent team prior to that date.
Alec Pierce: A former second-round pick in 2022, out of Cincinnati, Pierce is just 25 years old and already one of the best at the position. He helped Daniel Jones and the Colts become an explosive offense, leading the league in yards per catch in each of the last two seasons (21.8 average since 2024!!). Pierce also topped 1,000 receiving yards in 2025, had four touchdowns in his last three games in Indy, and the Colts are going to try their damndest to keep him from leaving but, in the highly unlikely event Pickens is allowed to leave, Pierce is definitely an option opposite Lamb. (Market value: $20M annually)
Romeo Doubs: Another young option at receiver is Doubs, one of the Packers’ best offensive options on a regular basis. Also 25 years old, Doubs is a former fourth-round pick (2022) out of Nevada, and his consistency and availability are two of his most intriguing attributes. Granted, he’s not Pickens — no one on this list is, or near it, all things considered — but Doubs has steadily improved since entering the league en route to a career-best 2025 season with 724 receiving yards and six touchdowns (two shy of a career-high). A less-expensive, but definitely worthy option to consider. (Market value: $12M annually)
Rashid Shaheed: I know what you’re thinking here and, no, I do not think KaVonte Turpin is somehow broken. I’m more of the mindset he’s having difficulty adapting to his new coordinator, but that’s a story for another day. That said, if Pickens is gone, elevating Flournoy to WR2, a more consistent offensive option is needed (719 receiving yards + 5 receiving TDs in 2025 regular season) and Shaheed presents that possibility with the fact he serves as insurance at returner (he is a First-team All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowl returner, after all) in the event Turpin can’t get back to peak levels under his current special teams administration. (Market value: $14.1M annually)
Wan’Dale Robinson: If you notice an age trend here, it’s for a reason, and that reason is, well, the only reason this list exists for me is to account for the slim chance there’s no Pickens in Dallas come 2026; and that’s something I wouldn’t bet on, but I also have a job to do in assessing all the variables — as required by science. As such, allow me to present Robinson, a 25-year-old who has, to this point, spent his entire rookie contract with a division rival in New York, and a former second-round pick that has proven himself a dynamic complement to an explosive WR1. He’ll need to heal up from the rib injury suffered late in 2025, but that’s not a major concern at all … though the price might be. (Market value: $17.6M annually)
Honorable mention
- Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel, Mike Evans, Keenan Allen
Outside of Jennings, the mentions here involve longstanding veterans who have proven themselves through more than just their rookie contract, and who continue to play at a high level — Allen being an example of both traits at the age of 33 years old. Evans is a future Hall of Famer, but it’s fair to say he’s injury-prone now, and especially for the money he’d command (projected $13.3M annually), and likely wants to suit up only for the Bucs anyway.
Samuel isn’t what he once was, but he’s still a very real threat to defenses, and Jennings’ ability to move the chains and score the football (9 receiving TDs in 2025) is more than evident, plus he’s got plenty of tread left on those young tires.
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
Dallas, TX
Akheem Mesidor selected by Cowboys by Blogging The Boys in SB Nation’s community mock draft
Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami
Pass rush has been an issue since the Micah Parsons trade. The Rashan Gary trade helped, but Dallas still needs an injection of talent. Akheem Mesidor fits here because his body size allows for some versatility inside and out, something DC Christian Parker utilizes. Mesidor is also a high-motor player with a deep bag of pass rush moves.
His last season at Miami was full of disruption in the offensive backfield and he shows an all-around game, not just a bend-around-the-edge pass rusher. Yes, he’s a little older than you’d like in a rookie (25), but his motor, pass rush toolbox, and ability to play the run matches up with a need and makes him a quality pick at number 20.
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