It appears as though the George Pickens drama is over — for now. What’s next?
In what has been the biggest story of the offseason, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens put the speculation to rest on Monday when he arrived for the start of the team’s mandatory minicamp.
After not being present for the voluntary portions of the offseason in the aftermath of being given the franchise tag, Pickens would have risked being fined by not being present for minicamp. Instead, he arrived and spoke for over 10 minutes with the media about his ongoing contract situation.
After applying the franchise tag, the team announced in late April that it would not be giving Pickens a long-term contract this offseason. He will have to play on the one-year, $27.3 million franchise tag to have any extension talks next offseason, or he could hold out entirely from the team’s activities and forfeit the salary.
His intentions were made clear on Tuesday, as he said he will play and does not plan on holding out from training camp or holding in during any team activities.
“When I think about the team and the run we could’ve had,” Pickens said. “Certain stuff in place could make something bigger, I think about that, and I take that into a part of the decision.”
“I’m going to be here for training camp. Yeah, [I’ll participate].”
It was communicated directly to Pickens back in April by owner Jerry Jones and head coach Brian Schottenheimer that a long-term extension would not be offered. When asked about that conversation, Pickens indicated that he took it in stride and moved forward.
“Super important,” he said about the conversation. “As a person, I would want you to tell your kids, your friends exactly what you want to do ... That’s really [Jerry’s] decision. Even if I ask him why, it’s still his decision. I never asked him why, there’s no point to ask him why, because he’s going to control it.”
As for why he did not report earlier this offseason, Pickens resorted to the advice of his agents — David Mulugheta and Trey Smith of Athlete’s First.
“I was just listening to my agent,” Pickens said. “Whether he was saying go, don’t go. That’s what I was doing. If he told me to come back the first day, I [would have]. Whatever people are telling me to do that are in control, that’s what I’m going to try to do to the best of my ability. He’s in control, he’s like your boss.”
“I was just waiting for my time to when I can come back. Whatever my agent tells me, I was just going off of what he was saying. Me personally, I’ve just been staying connected with the guys and still working out.”
As for what’s next, Pickens is focused on the football ahead. As the team goes through various offensive installs in minicamp, he’s catching up on what he’s missed from OTAs and earlier offseason work. In the end, he’s letting the business work itself out.
“The game is going to be the game,” he said. “The money that’s tagged to it is you guys’ job, the [front] office’s job. You just want to do your job at the best of your ability.”
“I’ll play football first and then let my agent worry about it.”
