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Noah Igbinoghene #6 of the Washington Commanders tackles George Pickens #3 of the Dallas Cowboys

It’s early, and it’s voluntary. For anyone looking to keep things on the bright side here in mid-May as the Dallas Cowboys trudge through the thumb-twiddling portion of the  NFL offseason, those are the two overriding points to remember–especially when it comes to potentially disgruntled receiver George Pickens. It’s early, and it’s voluntary.

But as Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Nick Harris noted on Tuesday, the Cowboys did quietly open up their workouts for veteran players, and though many were in attendance (including Pickens’ friend and running mate, CeeDee Lamb), Pickens was not. The workouts are voluntary, and in most years, to have one player or another skip portions of the program would raise no alarm bells whatsoever.

But it has not been an average offseason for Pickens, who had hoped to cash in with a big, lucrative, long-term contract after he took a major star turn last season, his first with the Cowboys. He racked up 93 catches and his 1,429 yards were the third-most in the NFL. But the Cowboys took a hard line with Pickens, putting the one-year, $27 million franchise tag on him days before the deadline and subsequently announcing that they considered the matter closed and would not discuss a long-term deal.

George Pickens Not at The Star on Tuesday

Therefore, Pickens’ presence at The Star will be closely monitored for the next month, with any appearance taken as a good sign he is happy and ready to repeat his 2025 production. Any absence, as with Monday, will be viewed with angst–might Pickens actually hold out, might he be angry enough with the lack of negotiations to seek some kind of vengeance against the team?

But again, as Harris noted, this is all voluntary.

As he wrote on Twitter/X: “For those keeping track, today was the first team workout for the Cowboys since George Pickens signed his franchise tag, but he was not present. Even though the workouts do have high team attendance, it’s all voluntary at this point. Nothing is mandatory until June 16.”

June 16, of course, is the date of the Cowboys’ mandatory minicamp, and that is really when the rubber hits the road for a potential Pickens holdout. The Cowboys will also have OTAs early next month on the following days: Monday June 1; Tuesday June 2; Thursday June 4; Monday June 8; Tuesday June 9; and Thursday June 11.

Cowboys ‘Expect’ Attendance at Mandatory Camp

Around the NFL, there is not a ton of surprise that Pickens would not be the first at The Star on a voluntary basis. But the Cowboys have been making it clear that they expect Pickens at all mandatory team workouts, and have also made it clear they won’t be trading Pickens even if he does hold out.

As COO Stephen Jones said earlier this month on Sirius XM Mad Dog Radio, when asked if Pickens would show up for minicamp: “Certainly, that’s what we expect. I mean, anytime a player signs a contract and the expectations, as we hold for all of our players, is when you sign up and you’re under contract then you’re expected to do what your teammates are doing. And certainly, you know, go back to Dak (Prescott), I know (Pickens) is working with Dak and those type of things, but at the end of the day, you know, we will see how this thing plays out. …

“Obviously the expectations are he’ll be in the building working alongside his teammates and working to create an identity for this football team to have success.”