The Dallas Cowboys are quickly finding out why the Pittsburgh Steelers were so willing to send George Pickens packing during the offseason.
In the Week 14 loss to the Detroit Lions, Pickens looked disinterested, with the wide receiver showing a clear lack of effort on multiple passes thrown his way. Bear in mind, this was even after CeeDee Lamb exited due to injury.
Pickens also committed a costly facemask penalty that wiped out a big play for the Cowboys.
The lackluster effort is just one issue Pickens had in Pittsburgh. He also made poor decisions on the field that led to back-breaking penalties for the Steelers, and he had issues with being on time, something that has reared its ugly head in Dallas.
On Friday morning, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones admitted he was puzzled with the way things went down with Pickens, who only had five catches for 27 yards, even though Lamb wasn't on the field for much of the game.
Jones would not go as far as to say he believes Pickens' problem stemmed from a lack of effort and went out of his way to find a different reason.
"He didn't have the game that he's been having, but effort? I would be very careful with him going there. This guy is explosive with his temperament, and I say that in a positive way," Jones said, per Tommy Yarrish of DallasCowboys.com. "So I don't think so much it was effort, but I don't necessarily have a good explanation as to why he didn't show up more, especially, again, against the back drop of they were limited in their secondary."
"I thought although we have a lot of respect, I do, for their defensive front, and their defensive front did whip us on the offensive line, it did, so therein lies maybe a little bit more of the problem," he added. "I thought Dak got some balls out there that should've been caught, Flournoy had a really good night, I know we're all positive about how he's coming along, he made some really outstanding plays. But I really thought it would've been Pickens grand centra. I'm not disappointed other than the fact that it could've helped us win that ballgame."
Jones later added that he is "not at all concerned" about Pickens moving forward.
"No, I'm not at all concerned going forward about Pickens. I would agree with you, I thought we would have more with him than we did," Jones concluded.
It's clear as day that Pickens wasn't giving full effort on Thursday night.
Whether we blame that on Pickens just being Pickens or his frustration with the game plan is irrelevant. A lack of effort is inexcusable, no matter the reason.
Pickens has nothing to be mad about. He has been a focal point of the offense all season long, even when Lamb has been in the lineup.
He should be thanking the Cowboys for that, as it has allowed him to set himself up for a potential massive payday in 2026 that may not have come otherwise thanks to his poor reputation around the NFL entering this season.
Maybe this is an outlier for Pickens this season and we won't see it again, but Jones better make a mental note and take this seriously as he continues to ponder his desire to keep Pickens beyond 2025.
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