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ESPN breaks news on Cowboys, Pickens, that's common knowledge to most

· Yahoo Sports

One of the more annoying things about being a locked-in fan of the Dallas Cowboys, is the way that national outlets deliver information on the franchise. America's Team comes with plusses and minuses, with the fact that Dallas is routinely on national television despite lackluster seasons contrasted by blowing up every single Cowboys molehill into a mountain.

This one might fall in the latter category, for those who are in the know and have a baseline understanding of how things are going to unfold over the next couple of weeks. The Dallas Cowboys have a clear leverage point to use in the contract negotiations with wide receiver George Pickens, and no one is shocked they are going to utilize it.

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ESPN's Adam Schefter has "broken" the news the Cowboys are expected to place the franchise tag on George Pickens. Shocker.

The tag is a no brainer to anyone who pays attention to the circumstances. After trading a third-round pick (and a Day 3 pick swap) to acquire Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas reaped the rewards of the wideout's first All-Pro season. Pickens set career highs in every meaningful offensive category thanks to catching passes from a bonafide star QB for the first time in his career.

Working with Dak Prescott, he caught 93 passes for 1,400 yards and scored nine touchdowns.

But Pickens was acquired in the final year of his rookie contract, leading to him being an unrestricted free agent if the two sides don't come to an extension prior to the start of the next league year. On the open market, Pickens would be expected to command a contract among the best in the league, meaning an average salary above $30 million.

However because of how the non-exclusive tag is calculated, Dallas can secure the services of Pickens for a one-year price tag of just $28 million. The tag isn't ideal, as a one-year tender means the Cowboys can't use the funny-money accounting trick of using bonus money to lessen the cap hit in the first year of a new deal. However it does guarantee that if Pickens shops his talents elsewhere, the Cowboys would have a right of refusal to match any contract offer.

And if they chose not to match any offer, the Cowboys would receive two first-round picks from the acquiring team.

As detailed in Cowboys Wire's 5 Options to Dealing With Pickens article from two weeks ago, the bigger likelihood in the event the two sides don't stay together would be working out a trade with a club for less than the two first rounders.

But that's only if things get testy. That isn't the case now, as "expected to place the franchise tag" has been the case since about December.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: ESPN breaks news on Cowboys, Pickens, that's common knowledge to most

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