<\/p>\n
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (right) and chief operating officer Stephen Jones take their seats for an opening press conference at training camp on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Oxnard, Calif.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
OXNARD, Calif. \u2014\u00a0Cowboys owner Jerry Jones<\/a> \u2014 the bringer of headlines, the crafter of viral quotes, and a self-described stirrer of news \u2014 made a surprising admission during Monday\u2019s “state of the union” news conference. That quiet, drama-free start to training camp you hear (or don\u2019t)? <\/a>He actually likes it, as contradictory as it might be to his track record.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI like the idea that the word is that we have had a quiet offseason relative to, dare I say, off the field noise or chatter, whatever you want to call it,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI like that. That hasn\u2019t been the case.\u201d<\/p>\n And Jones and the Cowboys, as well as the player with the biggest potential to attract that drama, deserve credit for that strange quietness.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens<\/a> traveled with the team Monday to California.\u00a0Pickens said at mandatory minicamp \u2014 when he showed up for that, too \u2014 that he planned to participate in training camp despite receiving the franchise tag<\/a>. He explicitly said he would not do a hold in and go to practice but not participate. As of Tuesday afternoon, there\u2019s been no indication that Pickens plans to change his mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n That one-year, $27.3 million deal <\/a>without the potential for an extension appears good enough for him.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not out of the question things could\u2019ve been different, even if it was always unlikely. This is the same\u00a0Pickens, after all, who was traded from Pittsburgh shortly after former Steelers head coach Mike\u00a0Tomlin declared that he needed to grow up. This is the same Pickens who was prolific last season in a breakout year<\/a>, finishing with career highs in every major receiving category, despite being fined multiple times for being late to meetings or for missing the team bus on the way to the road game against the Las Vegas Raiders.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite that reputation, the Cowboys, led by head coach Brian Schottenheimer, have preached Pickens’ love for the sport and for how things went on the field last year with the Cowboys. Ultimately, Pickens proved them right with how he handled the franchise tag.\u00a0<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth: Jones appreciates it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe way we have worked this out is the way it fit. I\u2019m proud that he will work it that way. I\u2019m proud that he will,\u201d Jones replied after the first\u00a0Pickens question, which was asked 25 minutes and 30 seconds into Tuesday\u2019s news conference. \u201cI hope that he comes out here and is the most prolific, successful receiver in the NFL this year. Now, how would you like to be a free agent with his credentials and step out there and have a year like that? I wish all of that, because if that happens, then that was good for us and we did it the way we thought was best for everybody concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n