Dallas Cowboys wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens weren’t on the field for the offense’s first series against the Las Vegas Raiders. The pair’s absence turned a lot of heads before coach Brian Schottenheimer explained it was his decision.
Hours later, team owner Jerry Jones touched on what transpired behind the scenes that prompted this decision. Talking on 105.3 The Fan (via Jon Machota), Jones said there was an “in-house” issue that kept Lamb and Pickens out of the field in the first series.
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Pickens addressed the situation on Tuesday, giving his side of what happened before that first series.
“Certain personnel,” Pickens said. “We kind of thought they were gonna come out in certain stuff. But they didn’t. They started kinda hunching down on the run, so we started throwing it around a little bit.”
Schottenheimer did not get into specifics about this situation, noting that the wide receivers didn’t make much of the decision and understood where the coach came from.
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“There were some things that were missed, so had a conversation with those guys and that was easy,” Schottenheimer said, per ESPN. “But you look at the energy those guys play with, they literally jump-started the offense when they got back in. They didn’t hang their heads, didn’t do any of that stuff. That’s why I love those guys, man.”
Both Pickens and Lamb found the end zone during Monday night’s game. Pickens caught nine passes on 11 targets for 144 yards and one touchdown. Lamb added five receptions for 66 yards and another score.
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The Cowboys secured a 33-16 win to improve to 4-5-1 a week before they clash with the Philadelphia Eagles in a crucial game for their aspirations.
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