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Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said Wednesday that Pickens will play out 2026 under the franchise tag, with no negotiations toward a long-term deal, Jonathan Jones of CBSSports.com reports.

It's unusual for a team to make this kind of announcement, especially with nearly three months remaining before the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players to negotiate contracts. Pickens hasn't signed his tag and thus can't be fined for missing team activities. The tag is worth $27.3 million, which means he'd miss out on around $1.52 million per week if he declined to sign before the start of the regular season. Pickens hasn't made public comments on the situation, but it's probably safe to say he isn't thrilled.

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