George Pickens will be a hot topic of discussion this offseason, but how will Brian Schottenheimer react if his star weapon misses the offseason program?
The Dallas Cowboys and George Pickens' contract situation has the potential to drag on far longer than it needs to.
And in all honesty, most of Cowboy Nation knew that was going to be the case.
Still, the idea of the Cowboys getting on the front foot with George as they did with Javonte Williams' contract is a dream for fans, but we know it isn't likely to play out that way.
We have also heard from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that Pickens' agent, David Mulugheta, doesn't like his clients playing on the franchise tag, something Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said the organization was leaning towards.
So that could create a standoff this offseason.
And as we saw with Micah Parsons, that means missing the offseason program, and more importantly, crucial practices at training camp in Oxnard.
But what are Brian Schottenheimer's thoughts on his star offensive weapon potentially being absent from some, if not all, of the offseason workouts due to his contract?
“This is going to play out the way it's supposed to play out,” Schottenheimer said. “GP loves football, and my relationship with GP doesn't change just like it didn't change with CeeDee or Dak or those guys that were going through certain things, and it's all part of the process. It's the business side of it.”
It is the business side of it, and as we saw with Micah, it can go sour and south in a hurry.
We know that the Cowboys want to retain Pickens. But we also know it will be a costly exercise, with anything under $30 million APY likely to be scoffed at.
Still, that appears to be the going rate for George, and if the Cowboys were to offer $32 million AYP, or even the same as CeeDee Lamb at $34 million, then most would agree that's a fair deal.
But if the Cowboys think they will tag Pickens and leave it at that, then it could open up a can of worms.
We know how much Lamb hated missing the offseason program, and it was detrimental to his performance early in the 2024 season.
Dallas won't want a repeat.
And I'm sure Pickens won't want to miss out either.