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George Pickens Responds to Richard Sherman's Harsh Criticism After Loss to Lions

Sherman said that Pickens looked “disengaged” and “uninterested in playing football” during Thursday's loss to Detroit.

Tim Capurso

Pickens was held to just 37 receiving yards in a 44-30 loss to the Lions.
Pickens was held to just 37 receiving yards in a 44-30 loss to the Lions. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
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In a 44-30 defeat to the Lions that dealt a big blow to the Cowboys' playoff hopes, star receiver George Pickens was held to just 37 receiving yards, his second-lowest output of the season. But it wasn't just the numbers. Pickens at times seemed to lack a certain crispness on his routes and wasn't as impactful as he had been in prior weeks, especially when fellow star wideout CeeDee Lamb was forced to exit the game in the third quarter due to a concussion.

Pickens's performance was a talking point in the postgame show, and Amazon Prime Video analyst Richard Sherman didn't hold back in his criticisms of the wideout.

“The big story here was George Pickens,” Sherman said. “George Pickens throughout the game, especially late in the game, just looked uninterested. Uninterested in playing football. And that's what you can't have if you're gonna be a superstar. If you wanna be the best receiver in the National Football League, you can't ever be disengaged. Doesn't matter if the game's going your way or not going your way.

“You can't just disappear in these games... You're the guy! CeeDee Lamb is not in this game... And you can't be the guy and half a-- it. I'm sorry. It's unacceptable.”

Pickens, a mercurial wideout who sometimes had trouble controlling his emotions during an up-and-down beginning to his career in Pittsburgh, was acquired by the Cowboys in May of 2025. His talent never in question, a fresh start seemed to suit Pickens, who exceeded 100 receiving yards four times in a breakout campaign for Dallas thus far in 2025, even showing he can handle the top receiver role when Lamb was sidelined for three games due to an ankle sprain. Pickens has legitimately been one of the best receivers in the league this season, a development that has done wonders for the pending free agent's standing around the league. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer has been vocal about his desire for Pickens to remain in Dallas long-term.

But Sherman thinks a performance like the one Pickens had on Thursday should give the Cowboys pause.

“...And if you're the Dallas Cowboys and you're looking to pay him big-time receiver money—$40 million—you're gonna look at this tape and say, 'Hey, is this a guy we can trust paying $40 million to show up regardless of circumstances?' ”

Pickens takes accountability for quiet performance in loss to Lions

“For myself personally, you can’t just disappear,” Pickens told Joseph Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News. Pickens also acknowledged the added defensive attention he saw with Lamb out of the game, something he said he was sure Sherman, a former defensive star in the NFL, would understand.

Pickens will have a chance to put this performance—and the accompanying discourse—behind him in Week 15 against the Vikings.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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