A major ace in three seasons with the Steelers, Pickens’ ability was never in doubt, but his consistency was. He put it all together in his first Pro Bowl season last year, catching 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. All of these numbers were career highs by a considerable margin.
Pickens was traded to the Cowboys in May of last year. Now he has a full regular season behind quarterback Dak Prescott and offense Schottenheimer and will have a full season to build on.
“It makes us excited that we know we’re going to have George here, and I think George is really excited to come back,” Schottenheimer said. “My word that I’ve used is always evolving. We’re in an evolving process but it doesn’t have to happen tomorrow or in a week. It’s going to happen.”
Perhaps just as important to Pickens’ maturity and sophistication is that the distraction of signing his label has been removed. The Cowboys aren’t going to extend, so the here and now is a priority, with a potential long-term deal waiting until next offseason.
Schottenheimer, for one, wasn’t surprised that Pickens was back in the fold on his one-year offer.
“We’ve been very upfront with George from the beginning about, ‘Hey, we’re going to play on the ticket,’ and stuff,” Schottenheimer said. “I don’t think there’s any reason to have [conversation]that’s not what we’re going to do. At the end of the day, we see George being part of this football team and having fun [2026] and hopefully beyond.”