Cowboys news: George Pickens is back with the team

A man of his word, George Pickens is. For months, many outside the building wondered if he’d make good on his promise that what matters to him most is football and his teammates — something that was easy to say before negotiations began with the Dallas Cowboys.

But once those talks got underway, and the result was a franchise tag and a decision to halt all negotiations until next offseason, Pickens’ character was put to the test, and he passed with flying colors.

“I feel good, honestly,” he said after his first practice at minicamp. “[It felt] kind of like the first day, when I first came here.”

To be clear, Pickens stated he had no plans of holding out of the Cowboys’ offseason program and, for those wondering, he isn’t going to hold in during training camp at Oxnard, either.

One of the biggest reasons for Pickens’ decision to participate fully, both now and in Southern California, is the brotherhood he’s become a part of in Dallas. He’s confident his longterm deal will arrive eventually, eternally looking to prove himself with or without one, equating the mindset to “anyone who has ever played football for free” at any point.

It’s the love of his team. It’s the love of the game. It’s the yearning for an NFL championship, having already tasted it at the collegiate level during his time at Georgia.

“I want to bring a Super Bowl to a group of guys that never had that feeling,” Pickens said. “That’s really the most important part of me. I’m here to definitely help the team. [I’m not thinking about] the tag and all that. It’s football first. You know what I mean?”

The Pro Bowl wide receiver “surprised” the team’s front office (per co-owner and chief operating officer Stephen Jones) with the expediency in which Pickens signed the tag and, two months later, he is on the field at mandatory minicamp.

On June 11, the girlfriend of the late Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland — Catalina Mancera — gave birth to the couple’s son, Makhai, she announced on her Instagram on Monday.

As the Dallas Cowboys arrived for mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, head coach Brian Schottenheimer showed a picture of the baby to the team before hitting the practice field.

“We actually showed a picture of Makhai today, so congrats to Catalina,” Schottenheimer said. “I actually saw her a couple of weeks ago at [DeMarvion Overshown’s] wedding. She was there. Everybody’s doing great. The guys were fired up and excited.”

Kneeland passed away at the age of 24 due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound just a few miles from the Cowboys’ facility in Frisco. After a brief traffic chase with police, Kneeland abandoned his vehicle and escaped on foot before being discovered a few hours later.

The event sent shockwaves through the Cowboys and the NFL as a whole in large part for a bigger conversation around mental health in the league. Since then, the Cowboys have continued to keep Kneeland’s name alive in the facility and continue to show support to his family.

“We’ve got a marker down in the players’ lounge supporting, and it says ‘One Love’, big bright star because that was one of Marshawn’s sayings. When you’re part of our family, you’re family for life, and so we want to make sure we do a great job of looking out for her and baby Makhai.”

If Dak Prescott is lost for an extended period of time in 2026, the Dallas Cowboys are what scientists call “hosed.” Unlike in 2022, when the Cowboys’ defense was good enough to hold down the fort in his absence, the current Dallas roster isn’t built to survive a long-term loss of their lead signal-caller. A short-term loss, on the other hand, might be survivable.

Depending how the backup quarterbacks look this summer, the Cowboys may be able to stay afloat without Prescott for a game or two, and Joe Milton and Sam Howell will be given every opportunity to prove themselves in practices. Milton, entering Year 2 in Dallas, has the inside track. The 6-foot-5, 246-pound product of Tennessee comes with an elite physical skillset. If the Cowboys can pick one guy to hit his potential, Milton’s the guy.

Howell, 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, isn’t the physical specimen Milton is, but he comes with 18 career starts under his belt and some ability to read defenses and anticipate throws. Howell’s roughly the same age as Milton but his ceiling isn’t nearly as high, so the onus is likely on him to beat out Milton.

In many ways, the Cowboys offense is a backup quarterback’s dream. Ceedee Lamb, George Pickens and Ryan Flournoy may be the best trio in the NFL this year, while Javonte Williams and the running game are one of the most reliable rushing attacks.

The only less-than-ideal part of the Cowboys offense is the pass protection on the edges. Whoever wins the QB2 job will have to be working on a clock because the ball may need to come out fast. Oh yeah, there’s also that pesky defensive situation to work around.

Under Christian Parker, the Dallas defense is expected to be better in 2026 but coming off a historically poor season, massive improvement is unlikely. Based on that, simply driving the bus at quarterback may not be enough to secure victory.

Dak Prescott’s “limited” practice

Brian Schottenheimer said Dak Prescott was dealing with a “sore knee” and would be held out of minicamp, mostly, but there was the All-Pro quarterback in the first practice leading team drills and looking damn good doing it, too.

One of his first throws was a deep right bomb to CeeDee Lamb toward the sideline, an absolute dot that Lamb reeled in before yelling and talking trash. – Patrik Walker

CB Shavon Revel moving well

On the defensive side of the ball, I glued my eyes to rookie first-round pick Caleb Downs but it was Shavon Revel that eventually stole my attention.

The second-year cornerback isn’t wearing a brace on his knee anymore, and is moving extremely well, whereas he seemed a bit unsure and very measured in his movements last season as he worked to return from a torn ACL. Revel looks ready to prove he might be back at top form. – Patrik Walker

How Cowboys recovering from injuries and George Pickens participated

Ever since Brian Schottenheimer addressed questions about George Pickens during OTAs, it was clear that if Pickens was present for minicamp the team would be careful in what he would and wouldn’t do on the field. On Tuesday, Pickens participated in mocks and individual drills, but did not take part in team drills.

It was a similar situation for Cowboys CB DaRon Bland (foot) and S Jalen Thompson (pec), who spent a majority of time on the recovery cords with Cowboys director of rehabilitation Britt Brown. Veteran S Malik Hooker was also part of that group earlier on in practice. Schottenheimer added in his press conference that EDGE James Houston (back) would be limited, and he did conditioning work on the opposite practice field. – Tommy Yarrish