Pickens (hamstring) expected to practice Wednesday

Pickens makes his return after sitting out in Week 9. He played through the injury in Week 8, which may have been the wrong decision. The Cowboys’ No. 2 wide receiver encouragingly upgraded from limited to full participation today and can be treated as a WR2 in what should be a high-scoring game against the 49ers.

Pickens is still stuck in the questionable column, though his continued participation is a good sign. The team allowed him to play through the injury in Week 8 against the Cardinals, which was probably the wrong call. He sat out last week despite practicing in a limited capacity. Hopefully, he upgrades to full participation tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Pickens played through the issue last week but will ultimately be held out in Week 9. Tight end Jake Ferguson is active after failing to practice until a limited showing Friday. Ryan Flournoy steps into a featured role for the Cowboys against the inside-funnel Colts defense. Fantasy managers can insert Flournoy into rosters as a viable FLEX considering he leads the team in slot rate through the first half of the season. Also inactive for the Cowboys are LB DeMarvion Overshown, WR KaVontae Turpin, CB Joey Porter Jr., LB Tyrus Wheat, OL Ajani Cornelius, and TE Luke Schoonmaker.

Earlier today, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he is “hopeful” that Pickens will be available for this weekend’s game against the Colts. Pickens ended up being limited in practice all week and appears to be truly questionable to play. If active, he is a WR2 against a beatable Colts defense.

Pickens has been limited in each of the Cowboys’ first two practices to start the week, which would seem to be a good sign for his Week 9 availability. We’ll get a better sense of where things stand when the Cowboys release their final injury report on Friday and give Pickens a designation heading into the weekend, but Schottenheimer’s optimism is a good sign. Owner Jerry Jones advocated for Pickens getting the ball more this week after Week 8’s loss to the Cardinals, so if he is active, the star receiver could be primed for a bit of a squeaky wheel game in a plus matchup against the Colts.

Pickens was also limited during Wednesday’s session. The 25-year-old still seems to be on target to play in Week 9 against the Colts, but fantasy managers would obviously like to see Pickens get in a full session before that contest.

On the plus side, Pickens is no longer listed with a shoulder injury. Hopefully, Pickens upgrades to full participation tomorrow, and puts this hamstring strain behind him. Team owner Jerry Jones told reporters earlier this week that Pickens needs to get the ball more. The squeaky wheel often gets greased. The Cowboys’ Week 9 game against the Colts looks like a solid bounce-back spot.

Rapoport added that “as of right now, there’s nothing there,” as far as a potential trade is concerned. Pickens, who is playing out the season on the franchise tag, hasn’t produced at the level he did in 2025 when he broke out for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns, but he remains a focal point in the offense despite his underwhelming production. Pickens still ranks 14th in the league among all receivers in targets and is 12th in total air yards. Despite the Cowboys’ disappointing 3-5 record, they remain in the race to win what has been an underwhelming NFC East. With team owner Jerry Jones saying earlier that Pickens needs to be targeted more, it’s safe to assume he will remain with the Cowboys for the season.

Jones apparently isn’t happy with Pickens’ usage through Week 8. Pickens has been targeted on 22 percent of his pass routes on the season, well below CeeDee Lamb’s 34 percent rate. He’s accounted for 31 percent of the team’s air yards, nearly the same rate he saw in 2025. In the Cowboys’ humiliating Week 8 loss to the Cardinals, Pickens had nine targets, one short of Lamb’s ten. Perhaps Jerry has not adequately studied the spreadsheets. Either way, Pickens remains an upside WR2 headed into Week 9.

Pickens had a 35-yard touchdown taken off the board by an offensive holding penalty. Outside of feasting on Thursday Night in Week 5 while CeeDee Lamb rested following his bludgeoning of the Texans, this is mostly just what it’s been for Pickens. He has one touchdown and zero games over 82 yards outside of that one. He’ll remain a reasonable WR2 next week against the Colts but the boom weeks have been tough to come by this year.