After not being present for voluntary activities throughout the offseason, Pickens avoided a contract holdout situation and reported to The Star for the first time since the conclusion of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n
For quarterback Dak Prescott, it was a welcome sight. As he enters his 11th year in the NFL, he does so on the heels of a productive 2025 season that saw him excel with premier wide receivers Pickens and CeeDee Lamb.<\/p>\n
From the moment Pickens walked through the door<\/a>, Prescott knew they would be able to pick up where they left off.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great,\u201d Prescott said. \u201cGeorge being here, you feel his energy, you feel his presence. It\u2019s in the locker room. Obviously, it\u2019s out there on the football field and just to get back in sync throwing, everything felt good. He looks great. I know he\u2019s going to be ready for [training] camp, and the excitement, you can feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n Pickens\u2019 arrival was left in question after the team placed the franchise tag on him in March and told him in April that he would not receive a long-term contract. It\u2019s a situation that Prescott is all too familiar with, as he was twice franchise-tagged by the team and has gone through multiple contract disputes with the Cowboys\u2019 front office.<\/p>\n \u201cHim being away from the game I\u2019m sure was hard,\u201d Prescott said. \u201cBeing somewhat in that position years ago, you want to be there with your brothers. You want to be there with the people that you\u2019ve committed the time to, you\u2019re making the sacrifices. The guy is getting still a nice check.\u201d<\/p>\n Prescott spent time with Pickens away from the facility this offseason throwing routes on air to keep the on-field chemistry flowing. For him, there was no doubt that he would be able to continue that at The Star in due time.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I said this a while back,\u201d he said. \u201cKnowing there was a potential he was going to go on the tag, there was no doubt in my mind that the guy wouldn\u2019t be ready, that he wouldn\u2019t show up, that he wouldn\u2019t do everything that we asked him to, and he\u2019s going to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking at minicamp, Pickens said that he intends to show up to training camp in late July and not hold out. As it is laid out, it appears Pickens will play on the franchise tag in 2026 with no fight.<\/p>\n \u201cThat guy makes it easy,\u201d Prescott said. \u201cYou see us just in routes on air out there, but you just go turn on the tape, that guy is going to get separation. He\u2019s just different. He understands his leverage. He understands his routes. He understands where I\u2019m looking for him at the catch point, the depth. So, yeah that\u2019s going to be a beneficial time [at training camp]. It\u2019s going to be great, but we can go throw a lot of touchdowns right now. That guy is ready.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 10:19 AM.<\/p>\n