In a somewhat surprising turn of events, George Pickens was a good sport. He signed his franchise tag tender, so the Dallas Cowboys might have their leading pass catcher of the 2025 season back in the building in 2026.
But they also need to tread lightly. Pickens has a history of having a volatile character and a bit of a temper, and with no long-term financial security, this situation could turn sour at any minute. That's why the Cowboys might be playing a dangerous game by not giving him another contract.
Talking to Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones claimed that the team fully expects him to report to the mandatory stage of its offseason workouts. Expecting and knowing, however, are different things.
The Cowboys still expect George Pickens to show up
"Haven’t been told that. Certainly, that’s what we expect. I mean, anytime a player signs a contract and the expectations, as we hold for all of our players, is when you sign up and you’re under contract and you’re expected to do what your teammates are doing."Stephen Jones
Pickens has until June to decide whether he'll show up. He'll be fined if he doesn't, and he'll agree to make just under $28 million next season if he does. That's not too bad, but it's far less than what he could've gotten with a new deal, not to mention that he's putting his body on the line with no long-term job security after this season.
The Cowboys have every right not to give Pickens a long-term deal. Besides his character concerns, they're already spending big bucks on Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, and there's only so much money to throw around because of the salary cap.
That said, Jerry Jones has a history of bad blood with Pickens' agent, David Mulugheta, who also represents Micah Parsons. They didn't see eye to eye, reportedly didn't even speak to one another, and those grudges tend to linger. Moreover, the Cowboys' decision to say they definitely won't give Pickens an extension and that other teams don't want to trade for him is odd, given how fragile a pro athlete's ego can be.
For now, Pickens has shown no indication that he'll skip a day of training camp, and the fact that he agreed to sign the tender is certainly a promising step in the right direction. Still, given how star players have usually handled these situations and Jerry Jones' tendency to ruffle feathers in his radio interviews, the Cowboys might be an unfortunate comment away from shooting themselves in the foot with their wide receiver.
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