FRISCO, Texas (AP) — George Pickens said he followed the advice of his agent in staying away from the voluntary portion of offseason workouts with the Dallas Cowboys.
The Pro Bowl receiver showed up for mandatory minicamp Tuesday, and sounded as if agent David Mulugheta played a role in that as well.
Pickens’ presence was expected once he signed the $27.3 million franchise tag and became subject to fines for missing the three-day minicamp, or training camp that opens next month in California.
“He’s in control,” Pickens said of Mulugheta. “He’s like your boss, so it’s no (issue of) trust or anything there. He controls what you do.”
Pickens waited two months before signing the one-year contract that’s worth about three times what the 25-year-old earned on his four-year rookie contract.
Pickens told the Cowboys before the draft in April that he intended to sign the franchise tag, prompting speculation that Dallas might try to trade him. The Cowboys made it clear they had no such plans. He signed the tag about a week later, in early May.
“Personally, what’s important to me is winning,” Pickens said. “I want to bring a Super Bowl to a group of guys that’s never had that feeling. Everything else is what they control.”
Pickens said he never questioned owner and general manager Jerry Jones over why the club decided not to negotiate a long-term deal and forced him to play on the franchise tag.
Under the one-year tender of the franchise tag, the sides still have until mid-July to work out a longer contract, but the Cowboys made it clear they weren’t even considering pushing that deadline. Any multiyear deal will have to wait until next offseason.
“The tag and all that, it’s football first,” Pickens said. “So, definitely play football first, kind of like I did last year and then worry about. Well, let my agent worry about it, really.”
Acquired last year in a trade after a tumultuous first three NFL seasons with Pittsburgh, Pickens thrived alongside CeeDee Lamb, finishing with career highs in catches (93), yards receiving (1,429) and touchdowns (nine) for one of the best offenses in the NFL last season.
Lamb is going into the second year of a $136 million, four-year contract that ranks him fifth among NFL receivers with an average annual value of $34 million. The latest to surpass Lamb was Jaxon Smith-Njigba of reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle. His $42.2 million average annual value is the highest for a receiver.
Pickens’ breakout year pushed aside issues that led his former coach, Mike Tomlin, to question the former Georgia standout’s maturity. He might have to do it again to become the next receiver to surpass Lamb’s deal.
“If you keep showing it, or they already have a hint of who you are, that’s when they’ll start speaking on (Smith-Njigba) contracts and stuff like that,” Pickens said. “I just keep doing what’s best for me.”
Pickens was limited with his work on the field, as coach Brian Schottenheimer indicated before practice. Still, Schottenheimer said Pickens wouldn’t necessarily need time to ramp up when camp starts in late July.
Pickens said he will be there in California.
“Even at the Steelers, I wanted to help the guys win,” Pickens said. “Here, it was tenfold, same thing. Just trying to do it to the best of my ability.”
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