It says something about a player's mental makeup when they are seen as the player having the best camp, and that is Dallas Cowboys receiver George Pickens. Coming into Oxnard with a one-year deal thanks to the franchise tag after a career year in 2025, Pickens wanted a long-term deal, but he didn't get it. Some players could pout; George didn't. Instead, it appears he's as locked in as he's ever been and is a menace on the field in Oxnard and against the Los Angeles Rams. While some think 2026 could be his last as a Cowboy, there are breadcrumbs that suggest it might not be. READ MORE:
'Phenomenal!' Cowboys' Quinnen Williams Reacts To New Contract With Perfect Mentality For owner Jerry Jones, who was a guest on the Up & Adams Show, he detailed what he's seen from George this offseason. "He's injecting himself in the team, his players, his teammates, they're feeling the enthusiasm he has to compete," Jones said. "We were scrimmaging against the Rams, we had an interception. He was tenacious in trying to strip that ball as though he were in the Super Bowl at the end of practice at that time. "He's inspirational. He's obviously extraordinarily talented." Pickens "inspirational''? We'll take it. But the contract is the big item on the menu. With Dallas making it known early on, publicly, that it wouldn't even negotiate a long-term deal, it raised eyebrows, and some were worried about how Pickens and his agent, David Mulugheta, would take that news. Well, they signed it, as Pickens is now due $27.3 million for the 2026 season. READ MORE:
Cowboys At Seahawks: Update on Dak Prescott Backup Competition But when a team makes such a call that they won't even sit down to talk about a deal, that can be a little hard to come to terms with. And for Jerry, he discussed the dynamic around the franchise with Pickens and his current contract situation. "On a personal basis, contract, no contract, I've been as motivated in the pursuit of a contract as I have been when I got the contract," Jerry added. "There is a whole lot of human makeup that pursuit of doing better so that it will be better is a better motivator. "Now, I'm not saying that's here at all, but it is here. He loves the game, and I take him at his word, that was that, we're playing on that [contract]. He can come out here and have the year that he's talented enough and mentally prepared to have, and that contract be a lot bigger than it would have been." So, all eyes will be on Pickens in 2026, both on the field and off the field, given what next offseason could look like. Another 1,000-yard season would surely see Pickens' value net him something starting with as four annually, and while some think that is a little rich for Dallas' blood, we have seen that it might not be, with the "ultimate goal" being getting George a new deal. Yes, there's a lot of water to go under the bridge, but personally speaking, the Cowboys have to do whatever they can to make sure the "inspirational" Pickens stays well beyond 2026.