Eight games into his franchise-tag season, George Pickens’ role in the Dallas Cowboys’ offense is under scrutiny. One NFL analyst suspects the reason runs deeper than a game plan.

Fox Sports Radio host Jordan Tucker made that case after the Arizona Cardinals erased a 14-point fourth-quarter lead to beat Dallas 33-30 in overtime at AT&T Stadium. Pickens caught two of his four targets for 48 yards, while CeeDee Lamb drew 11 targets.

Is George Pickens’ Contract Drama Impacting His Role in Cowboys’ Offense?

Tucker’s suspected unease comes amidst an ongoing contract drama. Pickens signed his franchise tag on April 29, locking in $27.3 million fully guaranteed for 2026 and leaving any long-term-deal negotiations for next offseason.

Tucker has his own theory about that gap.

“What is going on when it comes to George Pickens? I don’t know y’all, everything just feels off…” Tucker said. “Something happened this season, [and] I think it’s more of a behind-the-scenes thing. George Pickens really isn’t getting involved like George Pickens should. Now, the Dallas Cowboys do have a history of freezing guys out when it’s contract time.”

Tucker noted that past Cowboys receivers, including Dez Bryant, Amari Cooper, Cole Beasley, and Terrell Owens, have all spoken about this.

Tucker also pointed to Pickens’ usage and what happened during the final minutes of Sunday’s loss to Arizona.

“For some reason, George Pickens isn’t getting any targets. Also, his snaps are slowly starting to diminish, where you’re even seeing Ryan Flournoy get more snaps than GP,” he said.

“And for the situation that happened yesterday, we were in game-winning time offensively and George Pickens and [CeeDee] Lamb was on the beach. There is something going on with George Pickens. Probably the reason why he jetted off the field soon as the Dallas Cowboys lost the game.”

Through Week 8, Pickens has drawn 62 targets, and his 533 receiving yards rank 16th in the NFL. During his career year in 2025, Pickens caught 93 passes on 137 targets for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Pickens is currently the 19th-best receiver in the league in PFN’s WR Impact metric with a grade of 79.8. Last year, he graded out as the No. 3 overall wideout with a 90.6 grade.

Dak Prescott was asked about Pickens’ involvement after the game.

“If I had the answer, we’d get him involved,” he said. “I’m not trying to be rude or whatever it is, but he made some plays any time the ball went his way.”

Brian Schottenheimer, the Cowboys’ head coach and offensive play-caller, explained after the loss why Lamb and Pickens sat out some packages: “There’s certain personnel packages that they don’t play in, and there’s a reason for that.”

The exit that Tucker mentioned was caught on video inside AT&T Stadium. Pickens was spotted already running for the locker room almost as soon as Chad Ryland’s 42-yard field goal won it for Arizona in overtime.

Tucker then mentioned the Cowboys head coach directly.

“If I am Brian [Schottenheimer] and I’m trying to make an example out of a player, George Pickens isn’t the guy to do so… You probably got about nine more games as an NFL head coach or else,” he said.

The 3-5 Cowboys have exactly nine games left. Jerry Jones fielded a question about a possible coaching change after Sunday’s loss, and the owner replied, “That’s not in my mind at this time.”

Tucker closed with a simple prescription for the Cowboys: “I don’t care if there’s something going on behind the scenes right now. The Dallas Cowboys must mend that relationship and find ways to win. And the way that you’re going to do that is feed GP the ball.”

One of Pickens’ four targets produced Dallas’ longest gain from scrimmage on Sunday, a 37-yard catch by Pickens late in the third quarter that set up Prescott’s 5-yard touchdown run for a 24-10 lead. He also lost another long catch in that quarter to a holding call.