George Pickens doesn't seem to be all that bothered. The Dallas Cowboys' receiver is coming off a breakout campaign. A payday is almost certainly in his future.
Well before arriving at training camp for his second season with America's Team, the ridiculously talented wideout posted on Instagram a 36-second-long mashup of clips from his offseason. To the tune of Lil Uzi Vert's "Yessir," Pickens boards a jet, shoots hoops, rides a boat in tropical waters, swims and plays billiards. Film of a Brink's truck rolls for a brief moment within the visual vacation diary, during which he predicts the upcoming season will "be another movie." Pickens captioned the upload "5e année," with ninja, scuba mask and skateboard emojis. In French, the video label translates to "5th year."
The Cowboys have already started stressing about "6ème année." Rather than secure him long-term this offseason, Dallas chose to kick the can down the road.
Cowboys VP Stephen Jones: Teams can't pay two top receivers at the top of the market
"I don't know of any teams that really can pay two top receivers top of the market, so that's gonna be a real difficult situation as we move forward," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said during an interview on the DLLS Cowboys podcast. "We've managed to figure out how we can do it for this year. If everything works out the way we think it is, (in) which CeeDee and George both have huge years again, then it'll be a bigger challenge next year."
Pickens more than proved that he belongs in the conversation with the NFL's elite receivers last season. His 1,429 receiving yards were third-most in the league, behind only Seattle's Jaxon Smith-Njigba (1,793) and the Los Angeles Rams' Puka Nacua (1,715). Only five wideouts registered more touchdown grabs than Pickens did, pulling down nine.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans are still upset Pickens was shown the door. That's despite one of the draft picks Dallas sent to the Steel City yielding a possible quarterback of the future in Drew Allar. Part of the reason Pickens was traded turned out to be a non-issue when the receiver didn't throw a tantrum about not receiving a new deal. He showed up to training camp in Oxnard, Calif., ready and willing to work.
By continuing to doubt their ability to compensate him like he deserves, Dallas might be getting itself into trouble. He's gone about it exactly as they'd hope, but Pickens might not stay as patient throughout this season, especially if the Cowboys tumble out the gates or if he doesn't remain a primary weapon in the Brian Schottenheimer's attack.
In March, Smith-Njigba was showered with a four-year, $168 million contract extension. That Pickens is producing in a similar way — and playing on a $27.3 million franchise tag — is a bargain for Jerry Jones' team. Pickens also stepped up a campaign ago when Lamb missed three games in a row. During that stretch, Pickens posted two of his best efforts of the go-round with a 134-yard, two-touchdown game against Green Bay and a 168-yard day that included a scoring grab against Carolina.
Everyone knows Jerry Jones loves to entertain. Pickens' wait could devolve into an ugly saga for the Cowboys. That's not the sort of attention the owner wants.
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