​If there was anything the Dallas Cowboys believed they had in their back pocket when they decided to place the franchise tag on George Pickens and let him play out the 2026 season on a one-year, $27 million contract, it was Pickens’s love for the game. Despite the turmoil surrounding Pickens missing the team’s offseason workout program practices and the ongoing chatter about him skipping the mandatory minicamp last month—he did attend—the Cowboys remained confident from the start that Pickens would sign the deal (he did in April) and would not hold out once training camp began. “George loves football,” became the refrain from Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones, Brian Schottenheimer, and even Dak Prescott. Given that sentiment, it should come as no surprise that the Cowboys’ offensive skill players have been gathering to train with Dak Prescott in Park City, Utah, a week before they eventually head to Oxnard, and that every invited player has shown up. Yes, that includes Pickens.
The news comes from Clarence Hill of Dallas Cowboys News that Pickens is among the players taking part in a retreat for Dallas’s skill-position group. Prescott, who had previously worked out with Pickens earlier in the offseason, organized the retreat, which also includes CeeDee Lamb, the entire wide receiver corps, as well as the running backs and tight ends. Backup running back Jaydon Blue shared a photo of the full group, capturing both of Dallas’s reserve quarterbacks, Joe Milton and Sam Howell, who will compete for the spot behind Prescott. Hill tweeted, “Dallas Cowboys, Prescott have 100 percent participation at skill retreat, including George Pickens – DLLS Sports.”
Coming off a season that represented by far the best numbers of his career, Pickens posted 93 catches for 1,429 yards—third in the NFL and fourth-most in Cowboys single-season history. He hit free agency this winter hoping for a long-term deal, but the Cowboys stood their ground, not only tagging him but also signaling that they would not negotiate a new contract with Pickens this offseason. Yet Schottenheimer maintained an unwavering optimism. When Pickens did show up for minicamp, he indicated that he hadn’t contemplated sitting out training camp and that after skipping voluntary OTAs, he expected to be with the team for the remainder of the season. Ahead of minicamp, Schottenheimer said he had meaningful conversations with Pickens and remained confident in his commitment to win. “I know how he feels about this football team, this locker room. What we are building here. And so I am not surprised to see him, and I am thrilled he is here,” he said. “No. 1, what he feels about his brothers in the locker room, the guys—how much he cares about Dak and CeeDee and Quinnen and Kenny Clark and guys like that. That’s the first part. As you guys know, the offseason program and OTAs are voluntary.”