Those occasions, along with sideline blowups at teammates and coaches, led Steelers coach Mike Tomlin to rebuke Pickens several times, memorably saying ” He\u00b4s just got to grow up, man ” after receiving two flags but avoiding being tossed against the Bengals in December.<\/p>\n
The reasons behind Pickens\u00b4 public persona, Dallas players insist, come from his desire to win.<\/p>\n
![\"Dallas](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2025\/07\/27\/01\/wire-100666061-1753575980-174_634x422.jpg\")
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Dallas Cowboys cornerback Andrew Booth, left, prevents wide receiver George Pickens from catching a pass during training camp Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/strong><\/p>\n “He loves football, so that\u00b4s something that you cannot question about him,” wide receiver Jalen Tolbert said. “That speaks and jumps off the tape, obviously, and jumps off the field, and obviously in the meeting room, he can do the same thing.”<\/em><\/p>\n The Cowboys are working with Pickens to reign in his frustrations, but Lamb stressed the how different Pickens is outside the lines.<\/p>\n “When we get on the field, it\u00b4s a different beast,” Lamb said. “I expect him to be an animal. But, like, we have an on and off button. Everybody on this field does. On any field, honestly. It\u00b4s just, man, when you passionate about something, you don\u00b4t really care what the narrative is around you.”<\/em><\/p>\n Lamb and Pickens have seemingly become fast friends, often sharing information and dance moves on the practice field. They even worked up an elaborate handshake to celebrate touchdowns, which Lamb said took two days to fully choreograph.<\/p>\n “He\u00b4s a great receiver, he\u00b4s a great person,” Lamb said. “He\u00b4s everything that the people say he isn\u00b4t, and I feel like he don\u00b4t get enough credit for being who he is. But you never know the situation that people are going though, so just being so quick to put a narrative on something that you don\u00b4t really fully understand yet, I feel like it\u00b4s kind of jumping the gun. But as for GP, man, he\u00b4s a hard worker. He wants to be great. He\u00b4s wanting to learn, and I love that the most about him because I\u00b4m the same way.”<\/em><\/p>\n Despite flashing star potential while putting up solid statistics in Pittsburgh, amassing 2,841 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns even with subpar quarterback play in three seasons,\u00a0Pickens was as ready as the Steelers were for a separation. As soon as he arrived in Dallas and met with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones following the trade, Pickens believed he was in the right place to redefine his career.<\/p>\n “I think I needed a fresh start just in terms of, like you said, people not knowing me,” Pickens said.<\/em><\/p>\n The challenge now is making sure quarterback Dak Prescott and Pickens can develop an understanding on the field.<\/p>\n Their timing, or lack thereof, has shown up occasionally during the first week of training camp, such as when Pickens couldn\u00b4t come down with an over the shoulder basket catch that hit him in the hands on a deep sideline route Saturday.<\/p>\n But once those issues are addressed, Pickens expects to form perhaps the most potent one-two receiver tandem in the NFL.<\/p>\n “A lot of people over the years got different type of styles of play, but CeeDee\u00b4s a certain type of guy and then I\u00b4m a certain type of guy, so when you mesh that together it\u00b4s like `Mario Bros,\u00b4 you see what I mean? So we can definitely do something special,” Lamb said.<\/em><\/p>\n Cornerback Kaiir Elam delivered the most memorable moment of Saturday’s workout,\u00a0intercepting Prescott and then celebrating\u00a0by reaching over the sideline railing to grab a fan’s infant to raise over his head with both hands, echoing Disney’s 1994 animated hit film “The Lion King.”<\/p>\n “I’m just trying to give the people a show,” Elam said. “I seen one of the guys who was like, `I don\u00b4t know about this kid picking up my kid.’ But the kid was excited, that’s all that matters.”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" OXNARD, Calif. (AP) – The Dallas Cowboys are confident George Pickens the player will be a problem for opponents because Pickens the person won\u00b4t cause problems in… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":71816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n