Dak Prescott sends clear George Pickens message to Cowboys, Jerry Jones

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens is in the final weeks of his contract and seemingly isn't all that close to putting pen to paper on an extension this winter. 

While speaking with reporters on Monday, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott made it clear he wants to continue playing with Pickens for longer than just one more season. 

Dak Prescott thinks George Pickens can help Cowboys' offense "take a big step" next season

"We know we got to get that (defensive) side of the ball right," Prescott explained, per Jon Machota and Jayna Bardahl of The Athletic. "But we got to make sure that we aren’t complacent with what we’ve done on our side of the ball. We’ve got to get one of our guys signed and make sure that we take a big step on offense as well."

ESPN stats show that Pickens led the Cowboys with 137 targets this season. Additionally, he was third in the NFL with 1,429 receiving yards, eighth with 93 receptions and tied for eighth with nine touchdown catches. 

"It was a blessing for us," Prescott said about having Pickens as a weapon. "It’s the main reason we gotta keep him. He does more than just open it up for (Dallas No. 1 wide receiver CeeDee Lamb). He’s a game-changer himself, and we’ve got to use that."

Dak Prescott "confident" Jerry Jones, George Pickens will come to an agreement?

A Monday report shared that "the Cowboys have not held any contract talks with Pickens' agent" this offseason. It's believed that Dallas will use the franchise tag to retain Pickens' rights if the two sides can't work out a deal before the new league year opens in March. 

"It doesn’t matter, whichever way that they got to do it, he’s an important piece of this offense, an important piece of what we’re trying to do," Prescott added. "I’ll leave it to those guys. Obviously, if I need to get involved, I’ve said it before, I will. But (I’m) confident in (Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones) and everybody who makes those decisions and how much he means to us."

Per Tommy Yarrish of the Cowboys' website, Pickens said on Monday he felt his stock "went up" following his play this season. Pickens added that he "would love to" stay with Dallas, but it's unclear if he will participate in the club's offseason program if his rights are retained via the franchise tag.