George Pickens has not been around the Dallas Cowboys this spring, and the absence is now stretching into the first week of organized work. The 25-year-old receiver missed Phase I and Phase II workouts in May, then sat out the team’s first three OTA sessions after signing his franchise tag tender in the last week of April.
That is why Pickens is getting searched now. He is in his second season with the Cowboys and is expected to play 2026 on a $27.3 million tag, a figure that makes every missed practice stand out more than a normal offseason absence. The Cowboys have three more OTAs scheduled next week, but the next hard date is June 16-18, when mandatory minicamp opens and players under contract can be fined if they do not show.
Pickens gave the Cowboys production last season that would make any front office pay attention. He led the team with 93 catches, 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdown receptions in 2025, while averaging 15.4 yards per catch. The numbers are the reason he matters in Dallas now, not just as a one-year rental but as a player the team is already weighing against the kind of money tied up in CeeDee Lamb’s four-year extension from 2024.
That is where the friction starts. The Cowboys have made clear there will be no negotiations taking place with Pickens right now, even though they are evaluating whether he is worth money near Lamb’s deal. They did not place the franchise tag on him as a negotiating ploy for a team-friendly long-term contract, and they intend for him to play the season on the $27.3 million tag instead.
Pickens’ stay-away posture lands against a familiar backdrop. He spent three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers before arriving in Dallas, and the Cowboys want more than one season of evidence before moving into Lamb-level territory. The team’s own timetable makes that plain: voluntary workouts are one thing, but the June minicamp is mandatory, and the next meaningful checkpoint is whether Pickens is there when attendance stops being optional.
For now, the unanswered question is not whether Dallas values his talent. It is whether Pickens, who is still early in his fifth NFL season, will be in the building when the Cowboys shift from spring attendance to the kind of deadline that carries real consequences.
