PHOENIX – On the surface, everything seems fine between Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens and the organization. He’s working out with quarterback Dak Prescott. He’s traveling with receiver CeeDee Lamb. Coach Brian Schottenheimer said he called Pickens recently, and they shared a good conversation.
But there’s this: There’s still no guarantee Pickens will show up for the organized team activities, mandatory mini camp or training camp until he gets a long-term contract resolved.
“No, and I haven’t pushed that on him,” Schottenheimer said Monday at the NFL spring meetings. “I mean, again, we’re all going through the process. It’s almost April. We’re still a couple weeks away. It’s going to play out the way it plays out. Again, it’s all voluntary. We’ll see where it goes.”
It’s interesting Schottenheimer discussed his conversations with Pickens in comparison to how he handled another high-profile player last year, edge rusher Micah Parsons.
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In Schottenheimer’s first year on the job, he asked Parsons, who was also seeking a long-term contract, to attend the first day of the offseason program. Parsons did so out of respect for Schottenheimer because the coach was trying to establish a culture change at The Star.
At some point, Schottenheimer will probably ask Pickens to attend the offseason sessions and lean on Prescott and Lamb to foster those appearances.
In reality, Prescott and Lamb understand what Pickens is going through. He wants a long-term contract that secures his financial and playing future. Lamb held out to get his long-term deal; Prescott played on a franchise tag before signing a long-term deal.
These contract talks can get funky between club and player.
Stephen Jones, the Cowboys co-owner, said Monday he understands why a player wants a long-term deal but the franchise tag is a mechanism the team uses for player control, at least for one season.
The Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Pickens, giving him a guaranteed $27.3 million for the 2026 season. Now the club can also work a one-year deal with Pickens that gives him more money. You wonder if that will happen, and does it need to occur to push Pickens to The Star for work?
Maybe even to Oxnard for training camp, too.
“I respect that everybody would want a long-term deal,” Jones said. “Obviously teams around the league use it. Players around the league have played under a tag. It’s a lot of money. But at the same time I also understand why players want a long-term deal. We’ve had a lot of players here in Dallas that have, including our quarterback, the most valuable player to the franchise, has played under a tag. We certainly understand it, respect it, but we also know it’s part of the salary cap and part of putting a team together.”
Contract talks between Pickens and his agents haven’t progressed. When the Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Pickens a few weeks ago it was labeled as a positive by the team. Pickens didn’t say anything about being tagged on social media. He hasn’t been available to speak to reporters, so it’s difficult to say what his feelings are.
It’s assumed Pickens won’t be around for the offseason program because, like most players who get a franchise tag, showing up does them no good. The only way it works is if the player has a belief a deal will be reached before or during the season. That was the case with Prescott in 2024, when he signed a new deal a few hours before the start of the season opener.
When asked about contract talks with Pickens, Jones offered little insight.
“We’re just not going to comment as we move forward on negotiations on where that stands or anything like that,” he said.
Jones referred to his previous comment when asked if he expects Pickens to attend offseason workouts.
The workouts are voluntary so it’s OK if he’s not there.
However, the Cowboys have plans for Pickens in Year 2. They want to move him around more in the offense, and Schottenheimer mentioned the offense has to evolve in 2026. Last year, the offense was outstanding with Prescott throwing for over 4,000 yards, Pickens and Lamb picking up over 1,000 receiving yards and Javonte Williams rushing for at least 1,200 yards.
Defenses make adjustments year-to-year and Schottenheimer said offenses must do the same. Pickens’ movement in the offense is evolving, too.
“He’s looking forward to that,” Schottenheimer said. “And that’s where again, the fact he’s working and throwing with Dak and some of the other guys, that to me is more important than anything because you have to come up with that me-to-you factor. You know, Dak’s thrown to CeeDee for however many years so those two guys working together, I think, is going to be huge moving into Year 2.”
Before we can get to Year 2 with Pickens, the Cowboys must take care of him financially long-term and that might become a long process.
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