George Pickens reports to Dallas Cowboys’ mandatory minicamp, avoids holdout
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens reported to the team facility on Monday, as he avoids holding out from the team’s mandatory minicamp that begins on Tuesday.
Pickens arrived and took part in his offseason physical in his first appearance at The Star since the season ended, a team source confirmed. DLLS Sports was the first to report his attendance.
Pickens, who signed the franchise tag in April, is set to make $27.3 million this season. He had not reported to Frisco during the team’s voluntary portion of the offseason, but he avoids taking on his first fines by reporting to mandatory minicamp.
Speaking at OTAs in recent weeks, head coach Brian Schottenheimer said he hadn’t received confirmation from Pickens that he would attend minicamp, but the second-year head coach expected Pickens’ attendance.
“My conversations with George have been positive,” Schottenheimer said Tuesday. “Just about life in general, so I expect and hope he’s here [for minicamp]. Hope and expect is the same thing, you can’t make anybody do something.”
The Star-Telegram briefly caught up with Pickens at a youth camp he hosted in Corpus Christi on Thursday, and he did not commit to attending minicamp when asked. Now, the suspense is lifted as Pickens arrives back in the facility.
While his attendance is big for the evolution of the Cowboys’ offense in 2026, don’t expect Pickens to jump right back into full on-field work.
“I’m excited about when he gets in and the work that we’re going to have to build off of,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “I just hope he gets in to see some of the new guys, meet some of the new guys. I’m sure that’ll be it.”
Last season, Pickens caught 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns — leading all Cowboys in all major receiving categories. Despite the breakout campaign in his first season with the team, the Cowboys decided to apply the franchise tag in 2026 to see if the production continues. Ahead of the draft, team executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team would not be giving him a long-term deal this offseason.
“We’re so fired up to have George on this football team,” Jones said. “Obviously, he’s been here for a year. We gave up a third-round pick for him, and certainly he’s made tremendous progress in the year he’s been here. I think he’d be the first to tell you this is a great situation for him, playing with CeeDee [Lamb] and Dak [Prescott] and in Coach [Brian] Schottenheimer’s offense. He loves Coach Schottenheimer and what he brings to the table, but [it’s] certainly a conscious decision that we’ve made.”
While the deadline for the two sides to reach a long-term deal is July 15, it’s not expected after the team’s desires were explicitly stated in April. Under the current parameters, Pickens would once again be slated to hit free agency next offseason unless the two sides agree to a long-term deal after the season or the team applies the franchise tag again.
This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 11:40 AM.
