{"id":335098,"date":"2026-06-13T15:58:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/335098\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T15:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:58:15","slug":"not-everybodys-built-to-lead-cowboys-legend-doesnt-hold-back-against-george-pickens-amid-contract-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/335098\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cNot Everybody\u2019s Built To Lead\u201d: Cowboys Legend Doesn\u2019t Hold Back Against George Pickens Amid Contract Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

There were doubts about George Pickens being the right choice for the Dallas Cowboys<\/a> after they traded for him in 2025 because of his off-field reputation. However, the previously scorned WR was able to regain his lost reputation last season by racking up 1,429 yards, a career high. The Cowboys, instead of rewarding him with a proper contract, put him on the franchise tag.<\/p>\n

That decision clearly did not sit well with Pickens, who continues to be absent from team workouts. Former Cowboys safety Darren Woodson, who played in Dallas his whole career and won three Super Bowls, delivered a harsh take on the young WR\u2019s attitude.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNot everybody\u2019s built to lead,\u201d Woodson said on the Doin\u2019 Alright podcast on June 12<\/a>. \u201cThey\u2019re just not. It\u2019s just not innate, and everybody else. \u2026 And this is how Super Bowl teams become Super Bowl champions: when your best players, regardless of what their contract situation is, are part of it. They\u2019re still a part of it. They\u2019re going to show up. We\u2019re going to fight through the contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

Things have been a little rocky between Pickens and the Cowboys for a long time now. Pickens signed the tag on April 29, temporarily pausing this drama. Executive vice president Stephen Jones soon declared that there were absolutely no long-term plans about Pickens as of now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve made a decision that we\u2019re going to have George Pickens play under the franchise tag, which won\u2019t be a first for us,\u201d Stephen Jones said at the pre-draft press conference. \u201cSo there won\u2019t be negotiations on a long-term deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pickens signing the franchise tag gave the Cowboys a guarantee for the 2026 season. But for reasons unknown, the WR has still not shown up to the voluntary workouts. Fort Worth Star-Telegram\u2019s Nick Harris<\/a> asked Pickens at a youth football camp whether he planned to be at the mandatory minicamp the following week. He shrugged<\/a>, muttered an \u201cuhhhh,\u201d and before he could say another word, his representative jumped in and shut the whole thing down.<\/p>\n

\"CHARLOTTE,CHARLOTTE, NC \u2013 OCTOBER 12: Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens 3 during an NFL, American Football Herren, USA football game between the Carolina Panthers<\/a> and the Dallas Cowboys on October 12, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by John Byrum\/Icon Sportswire NFL: OCT 12 Cowboys at Panthers EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon251012106<\/p>\n

Pickens not attending practice before signing the franchise tag is one thing. But him putting pen to paper for the 2026 season for the Dallas Cowboys, and still not attending practice, is a different thing altogether. The franchise is now liable to fine him for not attending practice, now that the sessions will become mandatory. Per Sportrac, Pickens is set to lose north of $107,000 if he skips the three-day minicamp.<\/p>\n

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Pickens came to Dallas with a reputation of being a nuisance. When he was with the Steelers<\/a>, there were issues with his discipline, including tardiness and general demeanor. AtoZ Sports reported that his presence in the locker room \u201ccreated dysfunction within the building.\u201d One Pittsburgh<\/a> source told ESPN that Pickens was a great person to be around if he was having a good day. But if things turned bad, \u201che didn\u2019t want to be bothered or coached.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given how uncertain his future is after 2027, Pickens still maintaining this attitude in Dallas is not a good look for him if he wants a long-term deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust show up, dude,\u201d Woodson added. \u201cThat\u2019s the hardest thing to teach any young player. \u2026 Good things happen when you show up and do the right thing. Just come to work. If you don\u2019t show up, now everybody has a perception change: \u2018Well, he doesn\u2019t show up. He\u2019s not a team player. He really doesn\u2019t care about us.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have all this little talk, side talk going on. Just show up, you quell all that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s hard to argue with that logic, when there is precedent for Pickens upsetting the team atmosphere. There is clearly something about the WR that Dallas is uncertain about, and is using this season to arrive at a decision.<\/p>\n

The WR and the Cowboys have until July 15 to sign a contract. If there is still no resolution, George Pickens will have nothing guaranteed for him in 2027 unless Dallas makes a new move, or if another team signs him up after the season. What the WR does over the next few weeks may just end up dictating how things go for him in Dallas.<\/p>\n

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The post \u201cNot Everybody\u2019s Built To Lead\u201d: Cowboys Legend Doesn\u2019t Hold Back Against George Pickens Amid Contract Drama<\/a> appeared first on EssentiallySports<\/a>. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There were doubts about George Pickens being the right choice for the Dallas Cowboys after they traded for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[119729,7707,102,113,104,103,33999,5962,20434,10388,41910,10245,17183,7698],"class_list":["post-335098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-american-football-herren","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-darren-woodson","tag-george-pickens","tag-nick-harris","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-pittsburgh","tag-steelers","tag-stephen-jones","tag-the-cowboys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335098","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=335098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}