Pickens noncommittal on future with Cowboys

FRISCO, Texas -- George Pickens' commencement to his archetypal play with the Dallas Cowboys has galore wondering whether helium would privation to stay with the enactment aft 2025.

"I wouldn't caput it," Pickens said Wednesday. "The guys successful the locker country are ace cool. The vigor is great. But, similar I've said, I ever privation to showcase my talents, astir definitely."

Pickens, acquired successful a commercialized from the Pittsburgh Steelers successful May, is acceptable to go an unrestricted escaped cause aft the season. Pickens has 32 catches for 525 yards, and helium has scored six touchdowns implicit the past 5 games. His six touchdowns are a vocation high, and if helium scores again Sunday against the Washington Commanders, helium would go the archetypal Dallas wideout to people a receiving touchdown successful six consecutive games since Terrell Owens successful 2007.

Pickens and Amari Cooper are the lone Cowboys receivers to grounds astatine slightest 500 receiving yards and six touchdowns successful their archetypal six games with the Cowboys.

Asked whether the looming declaration concern makes him nervous, Pickens said, "I astir apt wouldn't accidental each that due to the fact that I'm decidedly successful the mediate of the season, truthful I'm not fully, afloat reasoning astir it. I benignant of conscionable privation to support going and spot however acold we tin get arsenic acold arsenic the playoffs and things similar that."

Cowboys Pro Bowl receiver CeeDee Lamb makes $34 cardinal a year. Lamb has missed the past 3 games with a precocious near ankle sprain but is expected to instrumentality Sunday against the Commanders. He was listed arsenic constricted Wednesday.

Asked what helium needs to spot from Lamb successful bid for him to play Sunday, manager Brian Schottenheimer said, "Yeah, if he's breathing, I'd consciousness beauteous good. ... Honestly. Nah, I mean CeeDee knows however to play football. If helium runs astir and catches a walk oregon two, I'm good."

Lamb's return, positive Pickens' productivity, should marque the league's No. 1 discourtesy successful yards and No. 3 successful points better.

"Way much dangerous, mode much explosive, too, erstwhile you got different guys similar CeeDee and [KaVontae Turpin] retired there," Pickens said. "It's different constituent of explosiveness that you can't truly describe."

Pickens, who turns 25 adjacent March, figures to beryllium 1 of the astir sought-after receivers successful escaped bureau should helium go available. The Cowboys besides could look to usage the franchise tag connected him.

On Tuesday, proprietor and wide manager Jerry Jones did not privation to get into whether the squad would similar to unfastened talks connected a caller declaration with Pickens now, but helium said helium is pleased with however the commercialized has worked out.

"In each facet of it, he's doing much than we did expect oregon that we could person expected," Jones said. "And what's truly peculiar is he's a existent positive to person astir the team. He's a existent positive astir his teammates. He's a large positive astir those coaches, and the coaches truly deliberation highly of him. So he's not lone doing it connected the field, he's doing it arsenic portion of the squad concept, and that's precise important and, successful his peculiar case, should beryllium noted.

"You know, we'll measurement that. We knew afloat good that if things truly went similar we privation them to go, that surely we needed to deliberation astir having immoderate country disposable if we were going to wage a 2nd receiver astatine that level."