Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens signed the franchise tag on April 29. The team hasn’t seen him since despite Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones saying shortly after Pickens signed the $27.3 million tag that the “expectation” was Pickens would participate in the voluntary offseason program.
Pickens hasn’t, which begs the question of why he even signed the tag.
The Cowboys will hold their mandatory minicamp next week, and quarterback Dak Prescott said Tuesday that he has not talked with Pickens about whether the Pro Bowler will attend.
Further, Prescott said he has not thrown with Pickens since April, which is before the team’s offseason program began.
Prescott, though, is unconcerned about Pickens’ absence.
“I’m excited about when he gets in and the work that we’re going to have to build off of,” Prescott said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “But George is George, and he’s fine.”
The fine for missing all three days of the minicamp is $107,911.
Pickens, 25, earned his first Pro Bowl in his first season in Dallas in 2025, making 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns.
The Cowboys are having an open competition to see who Dak Prescott’s backup will be this season.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said today that quarterbacks Sam Howell and Joe Milton are in an open competition to be the No. 2 quarterback in Dallas, and both of them will get equal reps until the decision is made.
“It’s going to be a fun competition,” Schottenheimer said.
The Cowboys acquired Milton from the Patriots in a trade last year. He played in four games behind Prescott, completing 15 of 24 passes for 183 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Howell signed with the Cowboys in March after spending last season as a backup for the Eagles. He has started 18 games in his career, all for the Commanders.
The Cowboys drafted cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. in the third round in 2025, knowing he would miss part of his rookie season. Revel likely would have gone higher in the draft if not for his torn ACL in September 2024 while practicing with teammates at East Carolina.
He played seven games last season with the Cowboys, but Revel feels even healthier this offseason. He has shed his knee brace and is getting a full offseason of practice.
“It’s very beneficial,” Revel said, via Tommy Yarrish of the team website. “Just because I can clean up a lot of things, a lot of errors I didn’t see last year, or I did see last year, that I could clean up this year.
“We’ve got a new coaching staff, they’re very detailed and very technical. When it comes to things, each day is intentional to get better. That’s what I feel like I’ve been doing. Of course there’s some things I need to work on. My knee is 100 percent, so now it’s time to focus on situational ball and I’ve got to see what I need to fix or get better at.”
New Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker met Revel in a combine meeting while Parker was still with the Eagles.
“He has a hell of a story,” Parker said. “Football means a lot to him, and he wants to work hard at it, so I think that’s where it starts. He has that built in his mind. Physically, his traits, the height, the speed, the power, he has all of that. So now it’s about just working from the neck up in terms of how the position needs to be played.”
Revel will compete with Cobie Durant for the starting job opposite DaRon Bland.
It will still be some time before we see the Cowboys defense against an opposing offense, but there’s been enough practice time for members of the Dallas offense to draw some insights into the new scheme.
Defensive coordinator Christian Parker was hired after last year’s unit finished near the bottom of the league in most major metrics and the team moved to acquire new players at all levels of the defense this offseason. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb’s initial impression is that combination is going to be a tough one for opposing offenses to crack from week to week.
“It’s annoying,” Lamb said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “It’s been annoying to prepare against. But obviously seeing it in practice every day, it’s kind of unique. Just seeing the different guys communicate and be able to understand and take what they learn from the meeting room and being able to easily translate it on the field. It’s good to go against. It’s very tricky.”
While it remains to be seen just what things will look like come September, there’s a lot of room for improvement after the 2025 effort and the Cowboys appear well positioned to take a step forward in their first season with Parker calling the defensive shots.
Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland and edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku aren’t practicing with their teammates yet as they continue rehabbing. Both, though, are expected to be cleared for the start of training camp.
“We’ve got a few guys that we’re going to be smart with,” Schottenheimer said from OTAs on Thursday via Patrik Walker of the team website. “Donovan Ezeiruaku and DaRon Bland, guys like that, you’ll see them throughout the next couple weeks advance into more individual drills and stuff like that, but a few of those guys are gonna be really smart with.”
Bland missed the final three games of the regular season because of a left foot injury, and he underwent surgery on Jan. 13. He missed the start of the 2024 season after surgery to repair a stress fracture in the same foot.
Ezeiruaku underwent offseason surgery to repair a labrum tear in his hip.
The Cowboys do not expect either player to begin camp on active/physically unable to perform.
“Oh yeah, [they will be ready]. Absolutely, yeah,” Schottenheimer said. “Both guys are doing great. It’s more of us taking precautions and being smart. You know, they both want to get out there, but, again, it’s OTAs. It’s more important that they’re learning the scheme and system and all of that, as opposed to them going out there and getting a tea lunch.”
