At the Corpus Christi event, the Star-Telegram was able to briefly catch up with Pickens to ask if he planned on being present for the Cowboys\u2019 mandatory minicamp next week. His answer?<\/p>\n
Pickens gave a shrug with an \u201cuhhhh\u201d before a representative of his agency cut him off to say he would not be answering any more questions.<\/p>\n
Speaking at OTAs over the last two weeks, head coach Brian Schottenheimer<\/a> said that while he hasn\u2019t gotten a commitment from Pickens that he will be present, he does expect the star wide receiver to be there.<\/p>\n Pickens\u2019 answer to the Star-Telegram seemed less optimistic.<\/p>\n \u201cMy conversations with George have been positive,\u201d Schottenheimer said Tuesday. \u201cJust about life in general, so I expect and hope he\u2019s here [for minicamp]. Hope and expect is the same thing, you can\u2019t make anybody do something.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the holdout question, Pickens talked about his offseason, mentioning that he is looking forward to using his experience to his advantage in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cI would probably say knowing the game,\u201d Pickens said about his biggest offseason improvement. \u201cThis is year five for me, and I\u2019m definitely knowing the game better than I did in year four and three.\u201d<\/p>\n Cowboys will have to wait it out until Tuesday<\/p>\n If Pickens planned on being at the Cowboys\u2019 facility on Tuesday, what would prevent him from saying he would be present?<\/p>\n That\u2019s probably the biggest takeaway from Thursday\u2019s interaction. He doesn\u2019t gain anything by having everyone wait it out, unless he is truly still deciding for himself, along with his agent(s). If Pickens does not show up next week, he is subject to his first offseason fines since the minicamp portion is mandatory for all players.<\/p>\n With the franchise tag signed, Pickens has until July 15 to convince the Cowboys that a long-term contract is the best solution. The Cowboys explicitly stated in April that they will not be offering him a long-term deal and instead expect him to play on the franchise tag in 2026. His feelings about that situation still remain unknown.<\/p>\n \u201cI expect he\u2019ll be here,\u201d Schottenheimer said June 4. \u201cI think he\u2019s in a good spot. I know he\u2019s handling his business, and I know he misses his teammates. We miss him, too. You guys know how we feel about him; we love him. This is just part of the business.\u201d<\/p>\n Pickens puts on camp for South Texas community<\/p>\n In front of a sold-out youth camp at Cabaniss Athletic Complex in Corpus Christi, Pickens was heavily engaged with the 200-plus kids throughout the event. Even when a parent would slip past security to try and snag a photo with the Cowboys star, he was open and accepting.<\/p>\n \u201cI had fun with the kids,\u201d Pickens said. \u201cHaving fun with the kids is important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n After the four-hour camp in heat that exceeded 95 degrees in the late afternoon, Pickens left his young fans with a parting message.<\/p>\n \u201cGrind, put that first,\u201d Pickens said to the campers. \u201cGrind at the thing you want to find yourself in. Next, stay smart. Stay in school, keep with the right friends and don\u2019t be a bad kid.\u201d<\/p>\n Pickens will host one more youth camp in Frisco on July 11.<\/p>\n Game schedule dates, times, locations June 1 Rangers 2, St. Louis 1 June 2 Rangers 7, St. Louis 4 June 3 St. Louis 5, Rangers 3 June 5 Rangers 3, Cleveland 2 June 6 Cleveland 6, Rangers 0 June 7 Rangers 10, Cleveland 0 June 9 at Kansas City, 6:40 p.m., RSN June 10 at Kansas City, 6:40 p.m., RSN June 11 at Kansas City, 1:10 p.m., RSN June 12 at Boston, 6:10 p.m., CW June 13 at Boston, 3:10 p.m., RSN June 14 at Boston, 6:20 p.m., NBC, Peacock May 22 Atlanta 86, Wings 69 May 24 Wings 91, New York 76 May 28 Wings 95, Las Vegas 87 June 1 Wings 79, Seattle 56 June 5 Wings 104, Los Angeles 96 June 9 at Minnesota, 7 p.m., KFAA June 11 vs. Phoenix, 8 p.m., Amazon Prime Video June 13 at Portland, 7:30 p.m., KFAA June 15 vs. Las Vegas, 7 p.m., KFAA, USA June 17 at Golden State, 9 p.m., KFAA 2026 season Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), 11 a.m., ESPN Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m., ESPN+ Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN Sept. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Oct. 18 at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA All local matches at AT&T Stadium Group stage June 14 Netherlands vs. Japan (Group F), 3 p.m., Fox June 17 England vs. Croatia (Group L), 3 p.m., Fox June 22 Argentina vs. Austria (Group J), 12 p.m., Fox June 25 Japan vs. Sweden (Group F), 6 p.m., FS1 June 27 Argentina vs. Jordan (Group J), 9 p.m., Fox Knockout round June 30 Round of 32: Group E runner-up vs. Group I runner-up, 12 p.m., Fox July 3 Round of 32: Group D runner-up vs. Group G runner-up, 1 p.m., Fox July 6 Round of 16: Teams TBD, 2 p.m., Fox July 14 Semifinal: Teams TBD, 2 p.m., Fox May 2 FC Dallas 2, NY Red Bulls 0 May 9 FC Dallas 3, Salt Lake 1 May 13 Vancouver 3, FC Dallas 2 May 16 FC Dallas 3, San Jose 2 May 23 FC Dallas 2, Colorado 1 World Cup break July 22 at Portland, 9:30 p.m., Apple TV July 25 at San Diego, 8:30 p.m., FS1, Apple TV June 13 NASCAR Racing Experience June 20 Team Texas – David Starr’s Racing School June 20 Drift n Drag July 11 NASCAR Racing Experience July 11 Hearts in High Gear July 25 Drift n Drag <\/p>\n