Cowboys All-Pro CeeDee Lamb still working out, waiting to get paid
The Dallas Cowboys will begin their first official offseason workouts with rookie minicamp this weekend, but they have yet to sign extensions with Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, or CeeDee Lamb.
Parsons is still guaranteed to be on the team in 2025, given the front office picked up his fifth-year option, but Prescott and Lamb don’t have the same guarantee. The Cowboys star wide receiver is in the last year of his rookie deal, while the franchise quarterback is in the final year of the contract extension he signed with Dallas in 2021.
Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones have verbally committed to having their star players on the roster beyond 2025, but a written commitment has yet to occur. Fans wondered if Lamb and the Cowboys couldn’t find common ground on a deal, would he hold out from offseason activities? The answer seems to be clear.
On April 15, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Lamb was absent when Dallas started their voluntary offseason conditioning workouts. The key word, however, is “voluntary.” It’s common to see a player do this to gain some leverage for a contract extension. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who was in Lamb’s draft class, is doing the same thing.
Just because Lamb was absent at voluntary workouts doesn’t mean he isn’t still putting in the work on his own time. The All-Pro was seen working with his offseason wide receiver coach, Delfonte Diamond.
#Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb working out and his routes look smmootthh 🧈
(🎥: @DelfonteDiamond on IG) pic.twitter.com/341niXJeAl— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) May 5, 2024
Lamb worked with Diamond last offseason, and his work translated onto the field for a historic year. No. 88 had career-bests in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He also broke Micahel Irvin’s single-season record for most catches and yards by a player in Cowboys history.
During the pre-draft press conference, Jerry Jones was asked where things stood with his franchise players and the status of their contract extensions. Jones didn’t seem too worried about other deals getting done around the league and said he needed a few more leaves to fall first. Some leaves seemed to fall faster than what the Cowboys owner could have expected.
The Detroit Lions signed Amon-Ra St. Brown to a four-year $120 million extension, and the Philadelphia Eagles gave A.J. Brown a three-year $96 million deal that gives him the highest APY (average per year) with $32 million. If the Cowboys were hoping to get Lamb at a price around the Brown deal, that number has gone up. If the Vikings figure things out with Jefferson and give him a contract in the $35-37 million per year range, then Dallas might have to match that to keep Lamb around.
Dallas could wait until next season to work out a deal with Lamb. The Cowboys still have one card up their sleeve in 2025 with the franchise tag to control what happens with their star receiver, but that sounds like a very tumultuous situation. Allowing Lamb to play another season on his current trajectory, which is improving every year, will shoot his price tag up exponentially, given the next wave of top receivers who will be up next for extensions (Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Stefon Diggs, Brandon Aiyuk, Keenan Allen).
