The good news for Dallas Cowboys fans feeling some angst over what the future holds for star wide receiver George Pickens is that his signature is on a franchise tag contract. It’s not the mega-deal Pickens had hoped for after he caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns last year, but have no fear, Pickens will not be standing in the bread line–he will earn $27.3 million for the season. He’ll survive.
Of course, there is still concern that Pickens might not see himself as being paid proportional to his talents, and that’s where things will get tricky–maybe–for the Cowboys. Pickens could opt out of upcoming Cowboys OTAs (which begin on June 1) and he has taken no part, thus far reportedly, in the Cowboys’ offseason activities at The Star.
Other than some Instagram posts of Pickens on vacation in St. Maarten and riding in a car with CeeDee Lamb, we know precious little of how Pickens’ offseason has gone, other than the fact that he put pen to paper on one afternoon in Frisco.
Cowboys’ Dak Prescott Takes Part in Home-Run Derby
There is no indication that Pickens will take part in any portion of the voluntary part of the offseason program, though there is plenty of anticipation building over whether he will show up or not. Take heart, though, because we do have Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to whet the whistle on Pickens news.
Prescott has been working out with Pickens from time to time, but on Thursday, he was taking part in a home-run derby. ESPN’s Todd Archer described it: “The Cowboys helped raise $80,000 for The Salvation Army at the Reliant Home Run Derby. Jake Ferguson was the individual winner after raising $20,600. A $10,000 donation was made to the National Medal of Honor Museum in his name.”
George Pickens ‘Is Going to Be There’ for Mandatory Cowboys Work
At the event, Prescott was asked about Pickens’ situation with the Cowboys and how it’s affected the offseason. Prescott went through a similar situation, playing under the franchise tag in his fourth season back in 2020.
Said Prescott: “Yeah, I mean, I’ve just shown George my support. The guy that I know George is, obviously, he signed the tag, so when he has to be there and ready to play, he’s going to be there. He’s a hell of a talent. We’ve thrown this offseason, so I’m comfortable with where he’s at and excited for when he can get in the building and get rolling.”
Dak Prescott & George Pickens Will ‘Build Off’ 2025
As for the Cowboys as a whole, Prescott said he is approaching this season with high expectations, and a hope that the team’s offense can continue to improve while the defense gets vastly better.
Prescott said, “My expectation every day is to just grow this brotherhood, absolutely build off what we did last year. Obviously, we had a lot of changes on the defensive said, so just, allow those guys to create their identity, allow them to create their culture and who they want to be, at the same time, keeping the team culture and making sure we are staying connected across the ball. Super-excited, just about the first couple weeks, just having some of the vets coming in.”
Prescott has long accepted that there were not going to be significant resources put into the offense this winter and spring–he said he is happy for his fellow veterans on the defensive side, though.
He continued: “Really excited for them, the young guys that we have brought in, they have great vets to look up to, and we’re going to look to build things on our side of the ball and get better.”
Cowboys’ Dak Prescott Drops Hint on George Pickens Offseason