Cowboys' KaVontae Turpin shares George Pickens plea amid uncertainty

The long-term future of Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens remains up in the air, as he seemingly won't receive a multiyear contract this offseason and instead will have to spend the upcoming campaign playing on the franchise tag worth roughly $27.3M.

It remains to be seen how Pickens' play will be impacted by his supposed unhappiness regarding his lack of a long-term commitment from the Cowboys. Recently, Dallas receiver and returner KaVontae Turpin made it known that he and others in the locker room understand how important Pickens is as it pertains to the 2026 Cowboys possibly achieving their goals. 

The Cowboys know they need a motivated and happy George Pickens

"We need him," Turpin said about Pickens, as shared by Tommy Yarrish of the Cowboys' website. "Just to be honest, that's how it is. Just for this offense to be who it was last year, we need him on the team. Everybody's happy that he's back."

Pickens led the Cowboys last season with 93 receptions, 137 targets, 1,429 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns. For what it's worth, he said earlier this week that winning with the Cowboys is "really the most important part to me" heading into the summer. His agent later insisted that Pickens "will continue to fulfill his contractual obligations." 

That said, Pickens' history suggests he could cause headaches for the Cowboys this coming summer if he is truly upset about his lack of a contract beyond 2026. Dallas doesn't seem to be in any hurry to offer him an extension, as his eventual replacement may already be on the club's roster. 

What KaVontae Turpin and George Pickens have worked on during throwing sessions with Dak Prescott

Yarrish noted that "Turpin and Dallas' wide receivers are continuing to spend time with Dak Prescott in throwing sessions that'll get them as in-sync as possible" ahead of the start of training camp in late July. Turpin expanded on those workouts with Dallas' QB1.

"Everybody's trying to get timing on all your routes, and they're trying to see how it is, how fast you are with the quarterbacks," Turpin explained. "Dak's just trying to get a feel for how everybody's going to run their routes. Then the other point is we're trying to build brotherhood here."

One wonders if Pickens will test the strength of that brotherhood between now and February 2027.