You could hear Dallas Cowboys fans breathe a collective sigh of relief when it was revealed that George Pickens reported to The Star on Monday for the start of mandatory minicamp.
While Dallas doesn't practice until Tuesday, Pickens arrived a day early to undergo a physical since this marked his first appearance at the facility since the end of last season.
Pickens gave the Cowboys a scare last week when he seemed noncommittal about showing up to minicamp. When approached by Nick Harris of the Star-Telegram, the All-Pro receiver shrugged and said, "uhhhh" before a representative of Pickens intervened.
All of the angst was for naught, and Pickens' arrival gives the Cowboys more than just peace of mind -- it means they won't have a summer holdout for the first time since 2022.
The Dallas Cowboys won't have a contract holdout after George Pickens reports to mandatory minicamp
Contract holdouts have become a rite of passage in Dallas.
In 2023, all-world guard Zack Martin sat out most of training camp before he and the Cowboys agreed to a reworked deal in mid-August.
The following year, CeeDee Lamb staged a training camp holdout. Dallas ultimately caved and paid Lamb $34 million per year, but not before the former first-round pick missed all of camp. That overshadowed Dak Prescott's own contract mess. Prescott practiced despite awaiting his own extension, which wasn't signed until the morning of the team's Week 1 game in Cleveland.
And of course, the Micah Parsons' 2025 holdout won't soon be forgotten. A rare contract stalemate that turned ugly, Parsons' relationship with Jerry Jones crumbled beyond repair, culminating in Dallas trading the star pass rusher to Green Bay in one of the most stunning moves in franchise history.
Each holdout was more exhausting than the last, creating an unnecessary distraction that lingered over the team. It's still hard to fathom that Jerry Jones put Brian Schottenheimer through the Parsons ordeal before his first season as head coach.
Does Pickens' arrival mean the contract theatrics are over? Hardly. Pickens still wants a long-term deal, and Stephen Jones said before the draft that the team won't negotiate an extension this offseason, citing a desire to see more consistency away from the field before committing to what will be a massive payday.
That said, Pickens showing up for camp is a big step. He already signed the franchise tag, which will pay him $27.3 million fully guaranteed this season. Every decision he makes between now and 2027 should be geared toward proving he deserves to be one of the highest-paid WRs in football.
Skipping mandatory practices after signing the tender would have been foolish. Instead, he likely improved his perception around the league -- even if slightly -- and ended a run of contract drama that had become synonymous with Cowboys summers.
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