Two games can change the mood around a roster fast, and Dallas’ latest stretch has done exactly that for a couple of its 2027 free agents. George Pickens is trending up in a hurry. Von Miller, meanwhile, is running out of runway.
Pickens finally looks like the player Dallas hoped it was getting.
After a pair of quiet outings to open the year, he started flashing in the Ravens game in Week 3. He only caught two passes against Houston last Sunday, but both were chunk plays that added up to 75 yards. CeeDee Lamb’s huge 17-catch day soaked up most of the attention, yet Pickens still mattered because his presence helped make that possible.
Then came Thursday night, and Pickens was one of the few Cowboys who actually looked in control. While Dak Prescott, Jake Ferguson, DaRon Bland and others helped sink the night, Pickens delivered a strong line: nine catches for 130 yards and his first touchdown of the season.
He was targeted 13 times and seemed to cash in nearly every chance he got. Even with Lamb putting up a big game in Houston, Pickens still drew plenty of defensive attention all night.
That kind of showing is the sort of thing that sticks. If Jerry Jones is weighing whether Pickens deserves a long-term deal or even a second franchise tag, this is the version of Pickens that strengthens the case.
Miller’s situation is heading the other way.
Through 72 defensive snaps this season, he has just two tackles, one QB pressure and little else to show for it. He was probably not coming back in 2027 anyway, but the idea of a retirement tour may need to end before Week 18.
There’s no question Miller’s arrival carried real feel-good value. After everything he has done in the NFL, the fact that he finally got to play for the Cowboys clearly meant something. But the on-field return has been minimal, and Dallas is not seeing any obvious ripple effect from having him around for Donovan Ezeiruaku, Malachi Lawrence or the other pass rushers.
The sting got worse last Thursday night when former Cowboy Sam Williams picked up a sack and helped Cleveland upset the Steelers. With Dallas struggling badly in the pass rush and on special teams so far in 2026, it’s hard not to notice that Williams might have helped in one or both areas. Instead, he was the one moved out to make room for Miller.
In Other News...
Cowboys Stay Alive In NFC East But One Problem Keeps Growing
The Cowboys got a little help around the NFC East over the weekend, with losses elsewhere keeping them in the division race even after another setback of their own. It is the kind of middle-of-the-pack reality Dallas has lived with too often lately, where the standings can look better on Monday than the football did on Sunday, and where the margin for error keeps shrinking as the season moves on.
Under Shane Schottenheimer, the bigger concern is the same one that keeps surfacing after each uneven stretch: this team has not done a good enough job putting wins together in back-to-back weeks. The defense has its own issues to sort out, too, especially the absence of takeaways, and the longer those problems linger the more the conversation shifts from surviving the division race to what kind of changes might be waiting beyond it. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Irvin Just Said What Cowboys Fans Are Thinking About Dak
Michael Irvin did not spend much time softening the edges after Dallas loss to Tampa Bay. The former Cowboys star made it clear he shared the frustration hanging over the fan base, backing a harsh comment aimed at the team and sounding just as disappointed with the way the Cowboys handled the defeat as with the defeat itself.
What stood out even more was where Irvin wanted the focus to stay. Rather than getting caught up in the back-and-forth around the tunnel, he pushed the attention back to the game and to the larger story of a franchise still trying to shake decades of disappointment. For a team that has spent far too long hearing the same complaints, it was another blunt reminder that the arguments off the field only matter because of what keeps happening on it. [Read more 🡒]
Jake Ferguson Is Becoming A Real Cowboys Concern
Jake Ferguson has been one of the more important pieces of the Cowboys offense since taking over as a starter in 2023, giving the passing game a reliable middle-of-the-field target and enough production to earn a long-term commitment last July. But this season has been a different story, with too many drops and too many lapses in ball security starting to chip away at the trust he built as one of Dallas more dependable young weapons.
The concern goes beyond a single rough stretch, too. Fergusons fumbles have become part of a larger pattern over the past three years, and his blocking has drawn criticism as well, which only magnifies the sense that the Cowboys are not getting consistent all-around value from a player they expected to anchor the tight end spot. For a team that counts on him in multiple roles, the question now is whether this is just a slump or the start of a more serious issue in his fit moving forward. [Read more 🡒]