If you’re an NFL owner thinking about paying Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens something in the range of $40 million per year next season, watching him play in a Week 14 loss to the Detroit Lions may have made you think twice.
It wasn’t just that Pickens had a bad game against the Lions with just 5 receptions for 37 yards on 9 targets. It was how he went about having a bad game that had multiple NFL insiders aghast afterwards.
Pickens was also called for 2 penalties against the Lions — one for illegal hands to the face and one for offensive pass interference.
“George Pickens seemed uninterested in playing football tonight,” Super Bowl champion cornerback and Amazon Prime analyst Richard Sherman said following the game. “He seemed completely disengaged, he disappeared and half-assed it. Totally unacceptable.”
Pickens Second in NFL in Receiving Yards
Pickens is second in the NFL in receiving with 78 receptions for 1,179 yards and 8 touchdowns through 13 games.
“It’s just lackadaisical play and you cannot have an off and on switch,” former NFL wide receiver and ESPN analyst Harry Douglas said on “Get Up” on Friday, December 5. “Every time you take the field you have to say you’re gonna dominate the man across from me. Everything you have to do has to be full speed.”
It’s also not the first time Pickens has been called on the carpet for lack of effort this season.
Pickens Started Season With Terrible Game vs. Philly
Pickens’ effort in the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles was equally offensive to NFL experts.
The Cowboys traded a 2026 third round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for Pickens in May.
“Not enough effort, not enough commitment to the team,” former NFL offensive lineman and 3-time Pro Bowler Taylor Lewan said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on September 11. (The Cowboys) need more from you when the ball’s not coming your way. There needs to be a full package of commitment from George Pickens … you’re a massively talented young man but we can’t have you jogging in run concepts. You’ve gotta be all in. I need to watch that tape and know you’re fully committed on every snap.”
Pickens was a second round pick (No. 52 overall) in the 2022 NFL draft and is in the final season of his 4-year, $6.75 million rookie contract.
The final straw for the Steelers came when Pickens showed up late to a Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He was also benched for the first series of a Week 11 win over the Las Vegas Raiders after he missed the team bus to the stadium.
“We saw it with the Steelers,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said. “(Pickens) doesn’t give effort when he doesn’t have the ball … the solution isn’t going to be (head coach) Brian Schottenheimer calling him into his office to talk. It needs to be Dak Prescott talking to him and asking him if he’s really all in. The Cowboys should be getting maximum effort from Pickens. He’s looking at $25 to $30 million per year if he performs … so how hard is this to get him to show effort? In Pittsburgh he was somebody they couldn’t count on … maximum talent but the effort isn’t there.”
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