When the Dallas Cowboys traded for controversial wide receiver George Pickens on May 7, sending a third-round pick and a future fifth-rounder to the Pittsburgh Steelers to get the talented but troubled pass catcher, they knew that the 2022 second-round pick came with some baggage.
But they probably did not guess that the 24-year-old would get hit with four disciplinary actions by the NFL league when the season was only half over.
But that is exactly where Pickens stands after nine games in the 2025 season. The Cowboys are struggling at 3-5-1 after putting on a dismal performance against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night, falling 27-17.
Second Taunting Offense on Pickens
Pickens caught six of nine passes from quarterback Dak Prescott for 79 yards, but his outing will be best remembered for a pointless unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that would result not only in a 15-yard penalty for his team, but in Pickens being required to write yet another check to the league.
On Saturday, the NFL Operations Department announced that Pickens would be slapped with a hefty fine of $17,389.
If that seems like a lot for simply pointing the ball at a Cardinals defender, it is. But that sum is the standard fine for a second offense in the “taunting” category.
Previous Offense Not Flagged by Refs
The fine followed a $11,593 assessment agains Pickens for a taunting incident in the Cowboys’ victory over the Washington Commanders just two weeks earlier. In that one, Pickens caught on video shouting directly in the face of Washington cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Pickens then made physical contact with Lattimore’s chest for good measure.
Even though neither taunt was penalized by the game officials in real time, when league officials reviewed tape of the game — as they say they do with every game — they deemed Pickens’ actions worthy of a fine.
In the game against the Cardinals, Pickens’ offense seemed rather minor at first.
“With the Cowboys trailing by 10, wide receiver George Pickens made a first-down reception to the Cowboys’ 48-yard line,” Dallas Morning News Cowboys correspondent Calvin Watkins wrote, describing the incident. “Instead of Pickens tossing the ball to one of the officials or laying the ball down, he pointed the ball into the face of defender Denzel Burke.”
Penalty Could be More Costly That Fine
The taunting penalty may hurt Pickens worse than the sum he will have to pay the league, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who said after the game that the penalty, along with Pickens’ earlier offenses, could cause other teams to shy away from signing him when he is set to become a free agent after this season.
“You can’t do that if you’re trying to get somebody to pay you 30 million a year. You can’t remind people that you may still be that same guy,” Florio opined. “There may be a GM, an owner, a coach out there who’s thinking, maybe we can get George. And they see that and, no, forget it. Forget it. Take him off the list. Strike him off the list. We’re not going to give that guy 30 million a year ’cause that’s going to happen at a bad time.”
Pickens was also fined twice in a Week 2 win over the New York Giants. Once, for removing his helmet while still on the field of play, and another for a “finger gun” gesture, which is banned by the NFL.
