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Patrick Crayton #84 of the Dallas Cowboys had advice for George Pickens.

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver is the kind of player the team and its fans have a soft spot for, a longshot seventh-round pick out of Northwest Oklahoma State who was a local guy, having starred for DeSoto High before starting out on his career. Even with the long odds, he became a valued receiver and return man–he returned two punts for touchdowns in 2009–over six seasons with the Cowboys before finishing his career with the Chargers.

Crayton’s biggest contract, per Spotrac, was a four-year deal worth $13 million with the Cowboys,  ahead of the 2007 season. So he can’t quite absorb the situation in which Cowboys receiver George Pickens finds himself, but he does know enough of how the NFL’s business works to see how Pickens should handle this current situation.

And Crayton seems to understand that Pickens has little choice but to play on the one-year, $27.3 million franchise tag deal he got from the Cowboys this offseason, but that Pickens should be ready to bolt the Cowboys because the team is not committed to him.

Cowboys Want to ‘Date’ but Not Marry George Pickens

Speaking on the DLLS Cowboys podcast this week, Crayton said the franchise number given to Pickens after a 93-catch, 1,426-yard performance in 2025 is not quite fair, though Pickens has little recourse to change it.

Crayton said: “I think the one thing you can say is, yes, it’s a lot of money. But it’s a one-year deal. People are like, ‘Dude, it’s $28 million.’ And I am like, ‘It is, that is a ton of money. That’s generational money that is great, he ain’t never seen that in his life, and that is great.’ But for what the owners make in these TV deals? Constantly trying to add more games, more pounding on your body? Man.

“I can’t say, be happy with the franchise tag, because to me, the franchise tag is a way of saying, yeah, we want you, but we don’t know if we really want you long-term. I am cool with us dating for a second, but let’s see how it works out long term. It’s almost like they have no intentions of getting a long-term deal because they already have said they not going to negotiate a long-term deal under this franchise tag.”

Cowboys’ ‘Vendetta’ Against George Pickens Agent

Of course, the bigger problem is that the Cowboys are not doing anything underhanded in giving the franchise tag to Pickens. That option is there in the collective bargaining agreement, and thus, Dallas owner Jerry Jones has every right to take advantage of it–if players don’t like the franchise tag, they should seek to get rid of it in the next CBA.

Crayton knows that. So does Pickens, and his agent, David Mulugheta (who is also Micah Parsons’ agent, with whom the Cowboys have a notably contentious relationship).

Said Crayton: “Being that, I am not going to lie, Mr. Jones and them probably do have a vendetta against David Mulugheta, his agent. They don’t like him, it is what it is.”

‘Man, Go Get Your Money’

Thus, Crayton’s advice for Pickens entering this year with the Cowboys is to play under the tag, put up more big numbers, then be ready to leave when a big contract comes in from elsewhere.

He said: “I hope George is—we gonna get the best George again that we got last year, because he’s not gonna spaz out like he did in Pittsburgh because he is still auditioning for that long-term money. I wish him well, I hope, I want him to keep balling like he been doing. If another team comes in with the Brinks truck? Man, go get your money.”