INDIANAPOLIS — The first offseason of Brian Schottenheimer’s time as Dallas Cowboys head coach in 2025 was spent dealing with the drama surrounding Micah Parsons and a contract extension.
As Schottenheimer enters his second offseason, the potential drama shifts to Pro Bowl wide receiver George Pickens, who is likely to receive the franchise tag by next Tuesday’s deadline and could skip the offseason program and potentially training camp.
“This is going to play out the way it’s supposed to play out,” Schottenheimer said Thursday from the NFL combine. “GP loves football. And my relationship with GP doesn’t change. Just like it didn’t change with CeeDee [Lamb] or Dak [Prescott] or those guys who were going through certain things. It’s all part of the process. It’s the business side of it. Hell, I was talking to CeeDee last night. It doesn’t change.”
Asked if Pickens will be with the Cowboys for the long term, Schottenheimer said, “I hope so.”
Pickens would make roughly $28 million in 2026 on the franchise tag. Once he is tagged, the Cowboys would have until July 15 to work out a multiyear agreement. Dallas has until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday to put the tag on Pickens or he will hit the open market.
The Cowboys have been scheduled to meet with his representatives at the combine this week.
Schottenheimer said he has not spoken with Pickens since the season ended but plans to do so soon.
Last year, Schottenheimer had a conversation with Parsons about being more involved in the voluntary offseason program than he had been in 2024. Parsons was around for the first two days of workouts and then intermittently after that. He did not participate in the mandatory minicamp in June and had a hold-in during training camp before being dealt to the Green Bay Packers a week before the season started.
Because Pickens would not be under contract without signing the franchise tag, he would not face a fine for missing the minicamp or parts of training camp.
