Cowboys Legend Sends Strong Message to George Pickens
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(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
At this point, the Dallas Cowboys look like they have two of the top-five wide receivers in the NFL. Star wide receiver George Pickens has been as good as anybody could’ve imagined, and continued that against the Washington Commanders in Week 7 with 82 yards on four receptions.
On the season, Pickens already has 607 yards on 36 receptions, including six touchdowns.
With CeeDee Lamb back in the mix, some questioned if he’d still get the football as much or be as dominant as he has been for the Cowboys, but it was clear in Week 7 that he’s still someone Dak Prescott is looking to get the football to.
However, with a contract situation coming up for the Cowboys, it’s a question that looms. Some believe they’ll allow him to walk, while others want him to stay around. That includes former Cowboys legend Dez Bryant, who said that he should look at him and Lamb and want to grow together and be in the Hall of Fame together one day.
“I’d tell George, ‘I guarantee you, brother, it won’t be like this nowhere else. You & CeeDee, you guys are dynamic. Stay together, grow together, go into the HOF together,” he said on 105.3 The Fan.
Should George Pickens Want to Stay With the Cowboys?
Bryant delivers an intriguing pitch for Pickens to stay with the Dallas Cowboys, but players prioritize getting paid. Pickens won’t stay on the roster long-term if the Cowboys fail to make a competitive offer.
The NFL enforces a harsh reality: players earn their pay.
Will George Pickens Want to Leave the Cowboys?
There are also some other aspects that the Dallas Cowboys have to consider, including the fact that Pickens and Micah Parsons both have the same agents.
When Parsons went through this a few months ago, the Cowboys clearly didn’t value him as much as Parsons and his agent thought he was worth. As a result, they traded him to the Green Bay Packers.
Jerry Jones doesn’t believe that’s a problem.
“Don’t pay any attention to that at all. No attention,” Jones said, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. “Too much was made of that — that the agent had something to do with the ultimate decision of where we were. It almost had zero to do with it, period. That’s not a negative; it just didn’t have that kind of influence. I was going to be where I was with Micah, relative to dollars and cents, no matter who represented him.”
Jones took a risk this past offseason by trading for Pickens, considering some of the on-field issues he had. There was never much of a debate about his talent, but Pickens was often seen doing things that he shouldn’t have been doing.
With that out of the picture now, according to Jones, it gives him even more of a reason to go out and get the money he wants.
“He is doing more than we did expect or that we could have expected,” Jones said when speaking about Pickens’ contract. “What’s really special is he’s a real plus to have around the team. He’s a real plus around his teammates, he’s a great plus around those coaches… We knew full well that if things really went like we want them to go that certainly we need to think about having some [salary cap] room available if we’re going to pay a second receiver at that level.”
1 Quiet Reason the Raiders' Offense Has Struggled This Season
The Las Vegas Raiders' offense has struggled this season for various reasons, mainly subpar play along the offensive line and at quarterback. However, the lack of playmakers at skill positions, for various reasons, have held the Raiders' offense back.
Raiders Rookies Must Improve
The Raiders invested a second-round pick into drafting Jack Bech, proving how much they believed in him before he ever put a Raiders jersey on. However, Bech must do his part and work through the growing pains only the Raiders' coaching staff knows about.
Bech and Dont'e Thornton were brought in to be two of those playmakers but have yet to make much of an impact. Bech's lack of playing time on an offense in desperate need of help at wide receiver speaks volumes about where Las Vegas' coaching staff believes he is developmentally.
“The more plays that we can log with the new guys, Jack [Bech] and Dont'e [Thornton Jr.], we can show them the things that they need to improve on and the things that they're not quite as sharp on. It helps them. And there's some pain in that too. There's some pain in there that we have to undergo. But it's how you do it,” Carroll said.
“By the time you get to the middle of the season, these guys should have things really cleaned up, and they should be ready to go and we can count on them and they can come through and not be error repeaters, you know? And that's what we're working hard at."
During the Bye Week, Raiders' Wide Receivers Coach Chris Beatty gave an update on the development of both of Las Vegas' wide receivers. If the Raiders can get Bech and Thornton up to speed quickly, it could alleviate some of the issues they are having on offense.
"Some ups and downs. We have got to be more consistent. Both of those guys are learning a lot. Theres good and bad in everything. First couple of games, Dont'e had an explosive play in every game," Beatty said.
"He has kind of fell back a little bit and some of the fundamentals, we have got to continue to build on. Same thing with Jack. They have done okay but there is a lot more out there. So, we will keep pushing them and getting the most out of them."
