STOP THE PRESSES!
After a non-committal answer about his potential attendance late last week, George Pickens is, in fact, at the Dallas Cowboys' mandatory minicamp. Like, actually.
Multiple reports have confirmed that Pickens is at The Star to take his physical before the start of minicamp on Tuesday. Clarence Hill Jr. of All City DLLS was the first to report Pickens' attendance.
Now, his contract situation still isn't going away. This isn't necessarily a concession by the star wide receiver as much as it is a move of good faith. Jerry Jones and Co. have questions about him off the field that need to be answered, and Pickens is showing his maturity by being at The Star.
His teammates aren't blind to his situation, nor are they ignorant of why Pickens is a bit disgruntled. But surely the Cowboys' locker room is glad to have Pickens back, as are Brian Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams, who can only build something special with all their pieces in place.
George Pickens shows up at Dallas Cowboys mandatory minicamp
This somewhat defies what he told the media last week and is a change of pace from his absence during OTAs, even though those were explained in part.
But for mandatory minicamp, players are fined for unexcused absence. According to Spotrac, NFL players are docked roughly $18,000 for missing Day 1, $36,000 for missing Day 2, and $54,000 for missing Day 3, which is a grand total of roughly $108,000.
Unfortunately, that is chump change for a lot of players, especially one like Pickens, who is making north of $27 million this season and could cash in on a multi-year extension in the neighborhood of $35 million per year sometime soon. It is insignificant enough to lose it and make a stand.
Thankfully, though, Pickens doesn't seem intent on making that stand. He has very little leverage as things stand now, even if other teams are making ill-advised wide receiver decisions that could potentially affect the market or spending floor for Dallas.
For now, though, Pickens should be out there on the field with his teammates and giving Christian Parker's defense its biggest test yet. Things are far from resolved, but this is a major step in the right direction for the Cowboys.
Ideally, he continues to be in attendance through training camp and the preseason, unlike someone else this fanbase knows, and the drama subsides. Pickens needs to let his play and approach do the talking, and Dallas will ultimately listen.
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