This week, before the Cowboys played the Eagles in what could go down as a turning-point game of this wild Dallas season–they’re all turning points from here on, really–star wide receiver George Pickens put out an article on The Players’ Tribune that attempted to explain some of his past while also expressing gratitude for his present.
Pickens was honest–he apologized to the Pittsburgh media for some of his past antics when he was with the Steelers, and revealed that he still has a good relationship with coach Mike Tomlin, though he was one of the driving factors behind the trade that sent Pickens to the Cowboys.
“They did right by me,” Pickens wrote of the Steelers. “They sent me to the perfect spot in Dallas. What more do you want me to say? There’s no drama, bro. No headlines to write.”
George Pickens Making Cowboys Headlines
Actually, though, there are headlines. For the second straight week, Pickens put up a monster game for the Cowboys, grabbing nine passes in the comeback 24-21 win over the Eagles for a touchdown and 146 yards, just six days after logging 144 yards and a touchdown in Monday’s win over the Raiders.
Pickens was brought in to be a complement to star receiver CeeDee Lamb. But in many respects, he has superseded Lamb. Quarterback Dak Prescott is impressed.
“It’s hard for me to say it exceeds my expectations,” Prescott said in his postgame media session. “My expectations are limitless with that guy. He’ll tell you, he’s not from here. … He’s not from this planet. I am not gonna put limitations on him. He went out there and does what he has done, in games when he has gotten that opportunity, and honestly, at practice as well. The guy loves the game. He stays focused. Communication, I know I have mentioned before, to other guys in the huddle. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
Dak Prescott Wants Cowboys to Keep George Pickens
And then Prescott weighed in on the big issue that lurks around Pickens, one that might paradoxically get trickier and trickier for the Cowboys the better he plays: Pickens is slated to be a free agent this offseason.
Prescott wants Jerry Jones to open the checkbook and find a way to keep him.
“We lucked out getting a guy like that. We gotta make sure we keep him here, he is a hell of a player. He is turning into a leader. He’s special,” Prescott said.
‘I Was Meant to Get This Fresh Start’
That part of things won’t be easy for the Cowboys, who are already paying Lamb a top-of-the market rate of $34 million per year. The Cowboys have an out at the end of Lamb’s contract, but that doesn’t come until 2027.
It is possible that the Cowboys could move money around for Pickens. But to pay two receivers upwards of $68 million per year would be difficult, and would sap the team’s ability to pay players elsewhere on the roster.
Still, Pickens is at 1,054 yards receiving already, No. 2 in the NFL, with six games to play. Prescott wants him back, and though it will be expensive, it’s hard to argue against it.
And Pickens certainly wants to get it done. As he wrote in The Players Tribune: “I swear, there’s a higher power guiding all of this. I was meant to get this fresh start in Dallas. It felt like coming home — in a real way.”
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