Cowboys break their silence as George Pickens’ viral message to a former All-Pro exposes how the team truly views its rising star.QQ
Cowboys WR George Pickens responded to Richard Sherman’s comments.
Following the Dallas Cowboys’ loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football, former NFL All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman didn’t hold back his criticism of wide receiver George Pickens. During the postgame breakdown of NFL on Prime, Sherman accused Pickens of “half-assing” his routes.
“He looked uninterested in playing football,” Sherman said. “That’s what you can’t have if you’re going to be a superstar, if you’re going to be the best receiver in the National Football League. You can’t ever be disengaged [. . .] You can’t just disappear in these games.”
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On Friday morning, a suspected response from Pickens via Instagram stories went viral on social media. In this day and age, you can never be too sure if something is true unless you saw it yourself. But Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer confirmed he was aware of the receiver’s response, via ESPN’s Todd Archer. He added he would speak to Pickens.
Brian Schottenheimer is aware of the now-deleted post George Pickens put on social media toward Richard Sherman and will speak to the receiver. “I’m going to judge George on the body of work and his body of work shows that he is an elite player,” Schottenheimer said.— Todd Archer (@toddarcher)
“This is a team game,” Pickens wrote as part of a now-deleted IG story. “I’m not the only one on the team [. . .] Don’t speak on me unless you know the game of football.”
The NSFW response included multiple insults to Sherman, and Pickens alluded at the cornerback’s time in San Francisco as being bad. He also suggested Sherman was acting like he didn’t know how double teams or bracket coverages work in the NFL.
Cowboys seem to be taking an intentional stance regarding Pickens’ effort on Thursday night
As for Schottenheimer’s stance on Pickens’ effort during the game, which was questioned by fans and media members alike, it appears to be that there is no concern.
“I’m going to judge George on the body of work and his body of work shows that he is an elite player,” Schottenheimer said via Archer.
In an interview for 105.3 The Fan, Jerry Jones said earlier on Friday that Pickens “‘didn’t have the game that he’s been having. I would be very careful with him [discussing his effort]. He’s explosive with his temperament. I don’t have an answer for why he didn’t show up more.”
The Cowboys’ stance on Pickens’ night versus the Lions combined to his response to Sherman on social media says a lot about the team’s stance on its star receiver. Publicly the team is pretty much acting as if nothing happened other than the team getting outplayed. Jones’ comment about being “careful” talking Pickens’ effort suggests the team is trying to avoid any conflict between the front office and a player they’ll be negotiating with in a matter of months.
Pickens’ 2025 season has indeed been elite, and the Cowboys will have to decide if they want to extend him, let him walk, or place the franchise tag on him. For now, avoiding any relationship trouble seems smart. However, Schottenheimer will likely hold Pickens accountable, even if it’s behind closed doors.
