{"id":317887,"date":"2026-06-01T18:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T18:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/317887\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T18:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T18:10:13","slug":"george-pickens-suspicion-confirmed-as-the-dallas-cowboys-kick-off-otas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/317887\/","title":{"rendered":"George Pickens suspicion confirmed as the Dallas Cowboys kick off OTAs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Cowboys are kicking off OTAs on Monday. Even before the start of practice, though, a major George Pickens question was answered. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Nov
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNov 23, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) reacts during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKevin Jairaj-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys are kicking off OTAs on Monday<\/a> and even before the start of practice, one of the major questions of the week was answered. And it confirms a George Pickens suspicion held by fans and media members alike. <\/p>\n

George Pickens not present at Cowboys OTAs<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, Pickens isn\u2019t at The Star in Frisco, Texas, as of Monday morning, per Clarence Hill Jr. from DLLS Sports. Despite signing his franchise tag, the Cowboys wide receiver is skipping the voluntary practice window. <\/p>\n

Pickens\u2019 choice was largely expected. After all, he is seeking a long-term deal. Even if the Cowboys announced they won\u2019t negotiate with Pickens ahead of the season, the wide receiver doesn\u2019t have to \u201caccept\u201d their decision by showing up. This is a leverage play. <\/p>\n

Cowboys insider said he has not seen George Pickens this morning
No surprise
It\u2019s voluntary<\/p>\n

\u2014 Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) June 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Though Pickens is subject to fines if he misses mandatory minicamp (starting June 16) or training camp, these are voluntary workouts. However, his decision is relevant, especially are we continue to decipher the logic behind his decision to sign the tag last month. <\/p>\n

Pickens\u2019 motivations remain unclear<\/p>\n

Last week, I wrote about why by showing up. In short, the reasoning was all about Pickens\u2019 best path toward becoming the league\u2019s highest-paid receiver. <\/p>\n

By showing up to OTAs, he could position himself in a great spot for another elite season while building chemistry with Dak Prescott. But also, Pickens\u2019 attendance could dispel the maturity concerns stemming from his Pittsburgh days. <\/p>\n

In all likelihood, Pickens believes he can achieve that without showing up to voluntary practices, though. So the next date to watch remains June 16 when mandatory minicamp starts. <\/p>\n

In his first year with the Cowboys, Pickens set career highs in just about every statistical category. He caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns, earning him second-team All-Pro honors. <\/p>\n

Beyond the numbers, Pickens stepped up at WR1 while star CeeDee Lamb was injured. And he showed he can play everywhere on the field, run quality routes, and get yards after the catch, putting to bed the notion that he\u2019s only a contested catch receiver who can only be a one-trick pony outside. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Dec\t\t<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe math foreshadows Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott will take a step back in 2026, but I wouldn\u2019t bet on it\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys quarterback was named one of the luckiest in the NFL. And that implies his numbers are likely to take a hit in 2026. But I\u2019m not betting on it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Cowboys are kicking off OTAs on Monday. Even before the start of practice, though, a major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[110201,102,113,104,103,5962],"class_list":["post-317887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-cowboys-otas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-george-pickens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}