The Cowboys were not exactly surprised that star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb failed to make an appearance at the first go-round of workouts as the team begins to dust of the stench of team’s postseason disappointment in preparation for 2024. Lamb remains without a contract extension. Among the upper-echelon wide receivers of the NFL who want new contracts, sitting out OTAs is just the thing you do.
Lamb did not show up for Dallas this week. Brandon Aiyuk was not with the 49ers. Justin Jefferson was not with the Vikings. Tee Higgins was not with the Bengals. Courtland Sutton was not with the Broncos. Darius Slayton (sure, why not?) was not with the Giants.
Veteran receiver Brandin Cooks, though, said he was not all that bothered by Lamb’s absence. In fact, he wanted to convey to Lamb that the holdout just means he needs to be greater next time around.
“I’m always there for him,” Cooks said per the Dallas Morning News. “My biggest advice is just to make sure you doing what you have to do so you can come ready for training camp, whatever the case may be, so you haven’t missed a beat so they don’t regret paying you.”
Cowboys Have a Micah Parsons Contract Issue, Too
The Cowboys were also missing Micah Parsons, who is in need of an extension, too, though that deal is lower on the list of priorities because Parsons is only entering his fourth season and is comfortably under contract for the next two years. OTAs are technically voluntary, so an OTA holdout is not exactly a hardline move.
Lamb is the big priority. Then again, so is quarterback Dak Prescott, who is entering the final year of his contract and needs an extension, too. But Prescott did show up.
He was clear that he, too, has Lamb’s back in his contract decisions.
“Yes, I mean, that’s my guy,” Prescott said. “Not many more people out there, more swaggier, cooler, better player, than that guy. So obviously you’re gonna miss him, miss having him around. But I’ve been in this situation, it’s business, business is business.
“He’s got my support and pretty much everybody in this locker room. I know locker room support and so it’s part of it. Hopefully, he’ll get all his and everything he deserves and is worth.”
CeeDee Lamb to Beat Out $32 Million Per Year?
That is a pretty penny by any stretch. Lamb is currently slated to play 2024 on his option year, worth $18 million.
He is coming off a year in which he led the league with 135 receptions and totaled 1,749 yards. In all, he has averaged 78.0 yards per game in his career, and had 102.9 yards per game last season.
Lamb was tied for fourth at Pro Football Focus among grades for 2023 wide receivers, with a 91.2. That was behind Tyreek Hill, who earns an average of $30 million per year, Aiyuk and Amon-Ra St. Brown. He was tied with Nico Collins and Jefferson.
That is one of the difficult aspects of Lamb’s situation: He is waiting to see what Aiyuk and Jefferson do, while they are waiting to see what Lamb and each other does. They were all watching St. Brown match Hill at $30 million per year and saw the Eagles’ A.J. Brown sign for $32 million per year.
Important to note: Tory Dandy is the agent for both Brown and Lamb. It’s highly unlikely that he is going to accept less for Lamb than he did for Brown. That means that, no matter how things shake out, expect the Cowboys to have one of the Top 3 receivers in the game when Lamb does sign—at least as much as Brown, more than Aiyuk, and probably a notch below Jefferson.
