Todd ArcherCloseTodd ArcherESPN Staff WriterTodd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010.Follow on XJeremy FowlerCloseJeremy Fowlersenior NFL national reporterJeremy Fowler is a senior national NFL writer for ESPN, covering the entire league including breaking news. Jeremy also contributes to SportsCenter both as a studio analyst and a sideline reporter covering for NFL games. He is an Orlando, Florida native who joined ESPN in 2014 after covering college football for CBSSports.com.Follow on XDec 4, 2025, 06:00 AM ET
A.Q. Shipley to McAfee: George Pickens is one of the best gets of the offseason (1:55)A.Q. Shipley and Darius Butler break down the Cowboys’ successful offense with players like George Pickens. (1:55)
After the final play of the game and some trash-talking back and forth, Pickens yanked Lewis to the ground by his face mask.
“Pittsburgh need a receiver,” Lewis, now with the Jaguars, said loudly enough for anybody to hear. “George Pickens is weak.”
It wasn’t only opponents who had issues with Pickens. The Steelers, who made him a second-round pick in 2022, were growing tired of his apparent immaturity.
Seven months after Pickens’ run-in with Lewis, the Cowboys acquired Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick from the Steelers for a 2026 third-round pick and 2027 fifth-round pick.
Entering Thursday’s game at the Detroit Lions (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video), Pickens has 73 catches for 1,142 yards (second in the NFL) and eight touchdowns (third) in 12 games — all career highs.
How did Pickens’ move from Pittsburgh to Dallas help him shake off his reputation as an immature and underperforming player to become one of the top receivers in the NFL — and what does that mean for the Cowboys’ chances of re-signing him as an unrestricted free agent this offseason?
The Cowboys will have to answer those questions in the coming months as they balance his personality, immense talent and ensuing monster payday.
“When he was having a good day, he’s really fun to be around. Funny, cracking jokes, huge smile,” a Steelers source said. “When he wasn’t having a good day, he didn’t want to be bothered or coached. I could never put my finger on why.
“When the ball was in the air, I never worried whether he was going to catch the ball and get his feet in bounds.”
Before the trade was finalized, Schottenheimer spoke with people in the Steelers’ organization and at Georgia, where Pickens played in college and Schottenheimer spent the 2015 season as an assistant.
“Different things,” Schottenheimer said. “How much he loved football, that he loves to play the game. You might have to deal with him being late occasionally and some things like that, which sometimes we all oversleep. But for the most part it was all positive.
“The minute I sat down with George Pickens in my office, and we shot some hoops, it was very clear to me, this guy was fired up to be a Dallas Cowboy and excited to help us go win games.”
One Steelers source who was consulted by the Cowboys told them that Pickens would be fine in Dallas because he’d have an alpha quarterback in Dak Prescott and an alpha receiver running mate in CeeDee Lamb. The source added that Pickens was late to meetings a lot in Pittsburgh — sometimes to the point “you felt the game was disrespected” — but teammates “loved him.”
Schottenheimer has acknowledged that timeliness has been an issue for Pickens this season. He did not elaborate, and multiple sources said Pickens has been fined for being late.
“He might miss a team bus or be late on occasion, but [the Cowboys] can live with that,” a Cowboys source said, noting Dallas hasn’t made a big deal out of the fines. “He’s been a hard worker and has been accountable, and that’s been the important part.”
“That’s where a lot of the issues from Pittsburgh stem from,” a player source said. “He didn’t have stability at quarterback.”
“The stuff he couldn’t control, he had a hard time dealing with — and a quarterback’s play is not in his control,” another Steelers source said. “I think the quarterback issues [in Pittsburgh] played a part in his frustrations.”
A Cowboys source cited Prescott’s leadership as a key for Pickens, who respects Prescott. “[Dak] has a unique way of knowing when to keep a guy accountable and knowing when to pull off, so when Dak speaks, George will listen.”
Prescott, who is having an MVP-caliber season, said of Pickens: “He’s a one-of-a-kind guy. Special individual, elite, has a great feel for the game, loves the game, plays the game like a kid. When you watch him play, the energy, the celebrations, like that’s contagious.
“But the discipline, there is a part of that that we’ve all got to tighten up. And GP knows that. Obviously, he responded to it, responded to the discipline by the way that he came out, and the intensity he played with and the effort he had. But he’s a special individual. There’s a balance to it, though.”
Lamb and Pickens synced up quickly on the field and turned into one of the most effective receiver pairings in the NFL.
“I feel like it was very easy for him. He understood that we weren’t trying to change him. We wanted him to come over and do that, and that he’s doing. He’s actually exceeded that. Shoutout to GP, man.”
When Pickens missed the team bus for the Week 11 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Schottenheimer explained Pickens would sit out the first series, executive vice president Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. So would Lamb, who missed curfew.
“His energy is so vibrant, it kind of gravitates to me and bro, CeeDee,” Pickens said of Schottenheimer the week after his benching.
After Lamb scored a touchdown against the Raiders, Schottenheimer went over to both receivers and playfully hugged them.
“In the league? Probably not,” Pickens said when asked if he had been embraced like that before. “But definitely back [in] high school. But in the league? No, Schotty’s probably the first.”
Pickens had unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in consecutive games against the Cardinals and Raiders. Sitting at a table for a news conference after the win over the Raiders, Schottenheimer moved his hand on the edge, teetering back and forth.
“You try to play on the edge and not go over the edge, and he’s kind of right here often,” Schottenheimer said. “That’s why I think he’s such a great player. But I’ll say it again, I love him. I really do. I love the young man. I tell him that all the time.”
He will be an unrestricted free agent, as the Cowboys did not pursue a long-term extension after acquiring him. They wanted to see how he would perform, produce and fit in with the Cowboys. And Pickens wanted to see how he would fit in Dallas as well.
Some around the league are uncertain whether Dallas would acquiesce, given the franchise tag of roughly $27 million to $28 million is well under that total. That would open up the possibility of Pickens skipping the offseason program and training camp if he and the club are unable to reach a long-term agreement by July 15, 2026.
The early signs are that Dallas is not afraid of the franchise tag number. “He ain’t leaving,” a team source predicted.
On numerous occasions, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has said he wants to keep Pickens.
“I’m proud he’s having the season he’s having,” he said. “It exceeds anything we could have hoped for.”
“I think that’d be a priority in the offseason,” Prescott said of if he will tell that to Jones. “Right now has it come up? Maybe joking here or there, whether it be to George or whether it be to Jerry. … But I’m all-in for [keeping Pickens].”
Salary cap issues complicate things, but a deal is not impossible. Each year, the Cowboys restructure contracts to create salary cap space.
The Cincinnati Bengals have Chase and Tee Higgins under deals worth $40.25 million and $28.75 million annually, while also paying quarterback Joe Burrow $55 million a year. Lamb makes $34 million a year. Prescott makes $60 million a year and will have a cap figure of $74 million in 2026.
The deals signed by tight end Jake Ferguson, cornerback DaRon Bland and left guard Tyler Smith earlier this year were designed with the ability to create roughly $30 million in room in 2026. Add in contract restructures for Prescott and Lamb, and there could be more money. Dallas could also release cornerback Trevon Diggs, who is set to count $18.441 million against the 2026 cap.
The Cowboys will also carry over a large amount of 2025 cap space to 2026. Currently, they have $23 million in room, but some of that could be chewed up if players reach certain incentives.
Jerry Jones had a simple answer when asked recently on 105.3 The Fan if the Cowboys could pay three defensive tackles — Osa Odighizuwa, Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark — $20 million apiece and add Pickens at the top of the market to Lamb’s already huge contract.
As much as people bemoan the Cowboys’ negotiation tactics of waiting to complete a deal with players (e.g., Prescott, Lamb, Micah Parsons), there is little incentive for Pickens to sign an extension right now, short of getting a contract on par with Chase.
When asked if he would sign the franchise tag tender, Pickens said, “I kind of leave that stuff to my agent.”
Pressed again, he said, “I’d have to wait probably until that comes. I can’t really see in the future. So I’d have to wait for it to get here.”
A.Q. Shipley to McAfee: George Pickens is one of the best gets of the offseason (1:55)A.Q. Shipley and Darius Butler break down the Cowboys’ successful offense with players like George Pickens. (1:55)
A.Q. Shipley and Darius Butler break down the Cowboys’ successful offense with players like George Pickens. (1:55)
CloseTodd ArcherESPN Staff WriterTodd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010.Follow on X
CloseJeremy Fowlersenior NFL national reporterJeremy Fowler is a senior national NFL writer for ESPN, covering the entire league including breaking news. Jeremy also contributes to SportsCenter both as a studio analyst and a sideline reporter covering for NFL games. He is an Orlando, Florida native who joined ESPN in 2014 after covering college football for CBSSports.com.Follow on X