Why Cowboys haven't been worried about George Pickens' mandatory minicamp decision amid absences

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed last week that he recently spoke with George Pickens and expected that the wide receiver will report for the team's mandatory minicamp, scheduled to run from June 16 through June 18, despite the fact that Pickens has remained away from the team for the voluntary portion of the offseason program. 

For a piece published on Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated explained why "it’d make no sense" if Pickens elected against showing up for the mandatory sessions. 

George Pickens likely made his mandatory minicamp call some time ago

"Pickens signed his franchise tender in late April and has skipped the team’s entire offseason program," Breer wrote. "If he’d planned to miss the minicamp to make a statement, the common-sense route to take would have been to not sign the tender until after the minicamp was complete, because then, Pickens wouldn’t be subject to fines for missing it. So, calling it what it is, it wouldn’t make sense to sign that tender and then incur the fines."

Pickens is set to earn roughly $27.3M for the 2026 season per the terms of the franchise tag. Back in April, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones made it known that Pickens will not receive a multiyear contract extension or be traded to a team willing to sign him to such an agreement this summer. 

The perception exists that Pickens hasn't participated in voluntary workouts as an unofficial protest regarding the fact that he is once again in a contract year. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones wants Pickens to "answer all those questions" the Jones family seemingly has about the talented wideout who hasn't always been on his best behavior during seasons. 

What it would cost George Pickens to skip mandatory minicamp

"Since minicamps are getting going this week, here is the (collective bargaining agreement)-prescribed fine schedule for this year for missing the mandatory sessions: $17,986 for missing the first day, $35,973 for missing the second day; $53,952 for missing the third day. That adds up to a maximum total of $107,911 for the three days," Breer added.

Pickens theoretically could afford to forfeit that money if he wanted to make a real statement about his unhappiness. That said, Breer and NFL Network's Jane Slater are among those who believe Pickens will at least show up for mandatory minicamp next week. 

It remains to be seen how much on-the-field work Pickens will do before Cowboys players begin their summer breaks.