Is Jerry Jones thinking long-term? Doubtful, but anyone who heard him on 105.3 The Fan this Tuesday can guess Dallas’s next chapter. 

The Dallas Cowboys’ crushing 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions brought wide receiver George Pickens into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, one of which was his absolute lack of effort. Many analysts, mainly Richard Sherman, called him out for looking utterly “uninterested.” Yet, sitting in his personal luxury suite within the Owner’s club at AT&T Stadium, Jones isn’t concerned. 

“Pickens brings everything to the table. He brings enough pluses to the table to frankly live with what’s going on, this type of criticism,” remarked the billionaire owner on 105.3 The Fan.

“The criticism in my mind is, is he a competitor, and when he gets out there, can he come down with the ball? Does he compete when he’s out there? A-triple-plus.”

After this, if Jones believes he can retain Pickens for a few coins more than his current $6.752 million, he’s only fooling himself.

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The receiver is already projected to land a whopping $33.5 million; now, his agent wouldn’t hesitate to ask $40 million or above once negotiations begin. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk put this in more unfiltered words.

“Congratulations, Jerry. You’re successfully painting yourself into a corner that will require $40 million per year in new money to escape.”

However, Jones appeared to be blinded by whatever potion Pickens had been giving him because there isn’t any other explanation for appreciating a receiver who logged merely five catches for 37 yards, for “his intensity for the competition.” What’s interesting is that Jones isn’t the only one to stand by Pickens amid the criticism.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer also didn’t question the wideout’s efforts, saying he didn’t see any lack of effort. 

“I love watching the guy play football,” the coach added.

Yet, even as Jones and Schottenheimer backed him, the 24-year-old wasn’t too thrilled about the assessment he got from the former All-Pro. 

George Pickens fires back at Richard Sherman

While Pickens’ performance against the Lions was questioned by many, former All-Pro cornerback Sherman’s words might have struck a chord. On PrimeTime videos, he claimed the receiver looked “disengaged among other things.” What made the headline post-game was Pickens’ response to it. 

“And it’s funny cause I thought former players would know that such as p**** a** Richard Sherman, WHO BTW AINT SHH WITHOUT THE LEGION OF BOOM,” the young receiver responded on social media, in a since-deleted post. 

Pickens believed that Sherman, being a former cornerback, should have understood how intensely the wide receiver was being covered by the opposing defense, the Lions, especially when CeeDee Lamb had to leave the field due to a concussion in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, head coach Schottenheimer revealed that he spoke with Pickens about his social media activity, but didn’t reveal details.