There’s a huge reason to believe George Pickens would miss Dallas Cowboys training camp, even if it means hurting himself
If the Dallas Cowboys don’t reach a long-term extension with George Pickens, they can expect a training camp holdout.
Not signing wide receiver George Pickens to a long-term extension is a dangerous proposition for the Dallas Cowboys for more than one reason.
Salary cap management is one of them, as tagging Pickens will make it harder to navigate free agency. Another is the mere prospect of losing one of the best wide receivers in the league after one year on the franchise tag. And then, there’s the risk of Pickens missing training camp.
We’re discussing the latter, and why it would and wouldn’t make sense for the Cowboys WR to skip camp when the time comes.
Pickens would hurt himself with training camp holdout
Pickens deciding to stay away from Oxnard, California when Cowboys training camp would directly cost the offense as he and Dak Prescott would be unable to work leading up to the start of the regular season. There’s a high chance that would result in decreased production from him, at least early on.
The Cowboys witnessed something similar happen in 2024 when CeeDee Lamb didn’t show up until training camp was over following a dramatic negotiation with the Jones family.
Blogging the Boys’ RJ Ochoa brought up a great point on this in a recent article, noting that Pickens’ situation is different than Lamb’s for a simple reason: When Lamb was absent from training camp in 2024, the Cowboys were still able to sign him to long-term deal.
If, however, Pickens isn’t signed to a long-term deal by July 15, the Cowboys won’t be eligible to even strike a long-term deal as per NFL rules.
“it is literally impossible for the Pickens situation to unfold exactly like the Lamb, Prescott, or Parsons ones,” Ochoa writes. “The situation may unfold (hypothetically) similar to those in that George could sit out minicamp, OTAs, and things of that ilk, but if this got to July 15 then he would only be costing himself by sitting out of training camp in the sense that there would be nothing that the Cowboys could do at that point.”
Ochoa is right.
Pickens would be costing himself, especially before what would prove to be another prove-it type of year for him. Who wants decreased production on a contract year? Unfortunately, that might not be enough for him to still decide to sit out of training camp.
And I decided to lay out why, starting with a huge reason.
2 reasons why George Pickens could still miss training camp
1. The David Mulugheta playbook
Holding out simply out of spite? Nothing new to players represented by agent David Mulugheta. In 2022, safety Jessie Bates held out from training camp after the Cincinnati Bengals failed to strike a long-term deal with him by the summer deadline.
At that point, the Bengals couldn’t do extend him to a multi-year deal, but Bates still held out until late August.
Mulugheta knows teams are aware of this precedence, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he reminds the Cowboys of Bates’ case to pressure for a long-term deal before July 15. But even if it doesn’t work for him, Pickens holding out could be a protest that is remembered like Bates’ for future negotiations, including with the Cowboys beyond 2026.
As long as Pickens doesn’t sign his franchise tag, he wouldn’t be subject to fines for missing training camp. He would, however, lose money if his holdout continues into the regular season.
2. Avoiding the risk of injury
Naturally, Pickens would like to stay healthy ahead of the season in this scenario to ensure he can play his best on another contract year. Training camp injuries are real. They happen.
With no long-term security in place, what will he care about the most? Winning with a team he’s been on for one year? Or staying healthy ahead of what could be generational wealth? Pickens’ relationship with Prescott, Lamb, and Cowboys teammates has been great so far.
But in this scenario, he will know the front office isn’t guaranteed to extend him. At that point, I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes Mulugheta’s likeliest advice and stays healthy.
While I agree with Ochoa’s point about Pickens hurting himself by missing camp due to his chemistry with Prescott taking a hit, the Cowboys better know the star wide receiver would be unlikely to show up at Oxnard if tagged. If they want their high-powered offense to not miss a beat in 2026, a long-term deal will be required.
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