FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dallas Cowboys receiver George Pickens signed his $27.3 million franchise tag Wednesday, making it almost certain the Pro Bowler will show up for mandatory offseason work while the club remains adamant it has no plans to trade CeeDee Lamb's sidekick.
Pickens informed the Cowboys just hours before the start of the NFL draft last week that he intended to sign the one-year tender, which sparked trade speculation because executive vice president Stephen Jones had said a day earlier Dallas had no plans to negotiate a long-term contract with Pickens this offseason.
The 25-year-old, acquired last year in a trade with Pittsburgh, had career highs in catches (93), yards receiving (1,429) and touchdowns (nine) for one of the best offenses in the NFL last season. Dallas had one of the worst defenses in the league and finished 7-9-1, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Pickens thrived alongside Lamb, who is going into the second year of a $136 million, four-year contract that currently ranks him third among NFL receivers with an average annual value of $34 million.
There was incentive for Pickens to take the guaranteed money under the tag because it’s a huge payday compared to the total earnings of $6.8 million on his four-year rookie deal as a 2022 second-round pick out of Georgia.
By signing the contract, Pickens can participate in the voluntary offseason program that started this week.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones has said throughout the offseason the club has long-term plans for Pickens. Jones said he wouldn't have made the lucrative offer under the tag without a belief that Pickens will be with the Cowboys beyond 2026.
Quarterback Dak Prescott and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence each played a season under the franchise tag within the past eight years for Dallas before reaching long-term deals. Tight end Dalton Schultz and running back Tony Pollard also played under the tag before leaving in free agency the next year.
Stephen Jones said the “newness” of Pickens’ tenure with the Cowboys was a factor in the decision to stick with a one-year deal for now and not a longer contract.
Pickens’ talent was on display during three seasons with the Steelers, but so were enough instances of petulant or indifferent behavior for then-coach Mike Tomlin to question his maturity.
Brian Schottenheimer never took issue with Pickens publicly in his first season as a head coach after a quarter-century as an NFL assistant. But Pickens and Lamb were benched for the first series in Las Vegas after missing curfew following a casino visit the night before the game.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
FILE - Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) runs a route during an NFL football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings, Dec. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron, File)
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole allowed three runs and three hits over 5 2/3 innings Wednesday in his third minor league injury rehabilitation start.
His outing came in the Somerset Patriots' 6-5, seven-inning loss to Boston's Portland Sea Dogs in the second game of a doubleheader in the Double-A Eastern League.
Cole struck out three and walked none, throwing 45 of 60 pitches for strikes.
“Not a lot of large misses and consistency out of all of the offerings today, which was nice,” Cole said. “I was pleased with the changeup. The shape and the location was pretty good today, probably the best it’s been.”
Cole retired his first 11 batters before Ronald Rosario's single. Johanfran Garcia hit a two-run homer on the next pitch for a 2-1 lead in the fourth and Max Ferguson also went deep on the first pitch, in the fifth.
Cole has a 4.40 ERA in three minor league starts, striking out 10 and walking one in 14 1/3 innings while allowing four homers. The 35-year-old right-hander made his first rehab start on April 17. While position players’ minor league rehab assignments are limited to 20 days, pitchers have 30 days and those recovering from Tommy John surgery may receive three consecutive 10-day extensions.
“It may seem like the same thing over and over again, but that’s the point, it's that we don’t have time up there to push in an extra day should the recovery not be — you got to go and you got to perform,” Cole said. "I want to get there, but I just have to build such a big base in order to get up there, get in the flow, and start to execute so in that regard it’s easy to stay focused on what I got to do, even though when I’m daydreaming sometimes I’m wishing I'm pitching against the Rangers."
A six-time All-Star, Cole is returning from reconstructive elbow surgery on March 11 last year that sidelined him for 2025. The last official outing for the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner was in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series that Oct. 30.
Playing a day after his 25th birthday, Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe went 2 for 4. He is batting .303 (10 for 33) with one homer and three RBIs in 10 minor league games starting on April 14.
Recovering from left shoulder surgery on Oct. 14, Volpe could be activated by the Yankees for Friday's series opener against Baltimore in New York.
Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón is set to make his second minor league rehab start Thursday, for Somerset. He allowed one hit over 4 1/3 scoreless innings on April 24 for High-A Hudson Valley. He struck out four, walked one and threw 43 of 65 pitches for strikes.
Rodón is recovering from surgery last Oct. 15 to remove loose bodies in his left elbow and shave a bone spur. He suffered a setback in late March when he felt tightness in his right hamstring while throwing at the Yankees’ complex in Florida.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole throws against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a spring training baseball game, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
