How David Mulugheta made George Pickens hold out in attending Cowboys practices

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How David Mulugheta made George Pickens hold out in attending Cowboys practices image

Feb 2, 2026; San Francisco, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver George Pickens during NFC practice at the NFL Flag Fieldhouse at Moscone Center South Building. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Holding out is a natural response after not getting an immediate contract in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys are all too familiar with this scenario too. Jerry Jones saw Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons limit their attendance in most of their practices when not given a sweeter deal. This same might have happened to George Pickens if he vicariously listened to the advice of agent David Mulugheta.

How Cowboys' could've not had Pickens yet due to Mulugheta

George Pickens finally attended Cowboys practice on June 15. It was a surprise to most people given that most players who have not gotten better deals yet tend to hold out until the very last second. This was not at all the case for the Cowboys star wide receiver. He may have missed some time away from Coach Brian Schottenheimer and Co., yes, but things could have gotten worse. He could have not showed up at all, if agent David Mulugheta had not urged him to come in the mandatory three-day program.

"Pickens, on the advice of his agent David Mulugheta, avoided coming to the voluntary portions of the offseason program. Pickens wanted to come but stuck to the plan established by Mulugheta... Pickens said it wasn’t about avoiding fines. He wanted to join his teammates. He didn’t care what was said in the media and from fans, that he’s only at The Star to make sure he doesn’t lose any money because of fines," Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News wrote.

Notably, the Cowboys only signed Pickens to a one-year franchise tag worth $27.3 million. This meant that he also saw Jaxson Smith-Njigba get a four-year deal amounting to $168.6 million and probably thought that his deal could be larger than that of the Seattle Seahawks wide receiver. This is why the Cowboys receiver has been holding out.

"So he’s like your boss. So there’s no trust issues or anything there. He controls what you do, so really you trust him or not," Pickens said about his agent.

In the long run, Jerry Jones will have to make a big financial decision about keeping Pickens alongside Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. Whether or not a deal is signed before the 2026 NFL season starts is still up in the air.