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Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb will reportedly hold out during the team’s voluntary offseason activities, exercising his leverage in negotiating a contract extension. Therefore, he might not report to the team during the OTAs, including workout sessions.
While this situation could have been averted, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III blamed the Cowboys front office for the outcome. Griffin said during the April 10 episode of ESPN’s “Get Up”:
“The Dallas Cowboys have had the worst offseason in the NFL. You can’t be all in on your team if you’re all out on your three best players... What is the goal for the Cowboys?... Because right now, they don’t have any situational awareness.”
CeeDee Lamb will play the 2024 season under a fifth-year option worth $17.991 million. However, despite having three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 2021 to 2023, he doesn’t have a contract extension yet.
Lamb and the Cowboys were eligible for contract extension talks as early as the 2023 offseason. Back then, his asking price might have been more cap-friendly. But after tallying 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, the former Oklahoma standout can rightfully demand a contract that puts him among the league’s highest-paid wideouts.
Spotrac estimates Lamb’s market value at an average annual salary of $28.8 million, translating into a proposed four-year contract extension worth $115.4 million.
Without an extension in place, Lamb can leave after the 2024 season, while the Cowboys get nothing in return. Assigning him the franchise tag or finalizing a new contract are the only ways to keep him in Dallas.
Meanwhile, despite team owner Jerry Jones’s comments during the Senior Bowl about going “all in,” the Dallas Cowboys have been quiet during the first wave of free agency. Linebacker Eric Kendricks is their only free agent signing who played for another team (Los Angeles Chargers) last season.
Conversely, they lost vital roster pieces like Tony Pollard, Tyron Smith, Tyler Biadasz, and Dorance Armstrong to other teams.
Griffin points out other Cowboys’ contract concerns aside from CeeDee Lamb
However, CeeDee Lamb’s contract situation is only the tip of the Cowboys’ concerns this offseason. Griffin added:
“For the Cowboys to come out and say that they’re not going to give Dak Prescott a new contract, have him play it out. You got reports that they don’t like Micah Parsons. And now you have this one about CeeDee Lamb. If their goal was to change the narrative and make it about winning, then they’re failing miserably.”
Like Lamb, Dak Prescott will play the final year of his four-year, $160 million contract without an extension. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have exercised Parsons’ fifth-year option worth $21.3 million. However, he doesn’t have an extension yet, even if he’s already eligible to negotiate.
