FRISCO, Texas – After signing his franchise tag on Wednesday, Cowboys Pro Bowl wide receiver George Pickens is set to remain in Dallas for the 2026 season.
For Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, the news of Pickens' signing did not come as a shock.
"Was not surprised he signed the tender," Schottenheimer said. "The communication with GP along the whole offseason has been great. As you all know, this is voluntary, but again I think that at the end of the day, I'm excited to see him when I see him. I'm not sure when that's going to be, but I just know that he knows where he wants to get better and improve. I'm looking forward to seeing him back and around whenever he gets here."
Last week, Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones said the Cowboys had no intention of trading Pickens, which is technically an option now that Pickens has signed his tender. On Saturday, Schottenheimer re-iterated that Dallas plans to keep him in the fold.
"We've been very upfront with George from the beginning about, 'Hey, we're going to play on the tag' and stuff," Schottenheimer said. "I don't think there's any reason to have that [conversation], that's not what we plan on doing. At the end of the day, we see George being a part of this football team and having a great [2026] and hopefully beyond."
With the plan of having Pickens in the offense, one of Schottenheimer's priorities in the offseason has been to continue to adapt the offense and try to stay a step ahead. Even with no assurances Pickens will be around for voluntary workouts, Schottenheimer and the Cowboys are confident they can continue to grow their offense for whenever Pickens returns.
"It makes us excited that we know that we plan on George being here, and George I think is really excited about coming back," Schottenheimer said. "My word I've used is always evolve. We're in the process of evolving, but it doesn't have to happen tomorrow or a week from now. It's going to happen."
As for where Pickens can grow from his career-best season in 2025 that saw him post 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns, Schottenheimer thinks there's still better football ahead for him.
"Where he can continue to go and grow is scary because what he did last year was amazing. And the more you watch the film, then you see it and you're just kind of like, 'Whoa.' It's just different," Schottenheimer said. "We've got a lot of really good football players, and he's certainly at the top of that list along with some of our other studs."
