George Pickens Clears Injury Report, Leaving Cowboys Fans to Worry About His Effort Instead

The Dallas Cowboys are getting a very expensive piece of their offense back on the field just in time to try and save their season. According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, wide receiver George Pickens has cleared the injury report and is officially good to go for Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Pickens had been dealing with a shoulder issue, but his physical health might be the least of the concerns in Dallas right now. The Cowboys are sitting at an ugly 2-4 after dropping their last two games, including a 23-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers where the offense looked like it was running in wet cement.

"Tom Pelissero reported Pickens is 'off the injury report and good to go Monday night vs. the Eagles.'"

With CeeDee Lamb sidelined by an ankle injury, Dallas desperately needs Pickens to actually look like a primary target. He is currently playing on a one-year, $27.2 million franchise tag, which is a massive number for a guy who has managed just 33 receptions for 428 yards and a single touchdown through six weeks.

For context, paying nearly $30 million for one touchdown in a month and a half is the kind of return on investment that usually gets a hedge fund manager investigated.

The real issue isn't the shoulder, it is the tape. Pickens has spent the last week getting publicly roasted by everyone from Bill Simmons to Richard Sherman for a glaring lack of effort. When a star receiver looks completely disinterested while his team is losing, that is not a slump. That is a business decision.

Anyone looking at the prop markets for Monday night has to factor in that dynamic. You are not just betting on whether Pickens can beat the Philadelphia secondary, you are betting on whether he actually wants to.

Monday night in Philly is about as hostile as it gets, and the Cowboys are running out of time to fix their season. Pickens is healthy, but we are about to find out if he is actually ready to play.