The Dallas Cowboys’ 2024 offseason has been dominated by talk around a contract extension for the team’s star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb – though an end to the saga appears to be in sight.
Lamb, who is one at the best at his position in the NFL, has been absent from the Cowboys’ preseason preparations as he holds out for a new long-term contract.
Although he continues to wait for a new deal to tie him up with the Cowboys and with questions surrounding his future in Texas, Dallas owner Jerry Jones remains optimistic the two camps can come to an agreement.
“The facts are that I believe we’ll come together,” Jones told the media on Tuesday, per the Cowboys website. “I don’t want to speak for him. That’s what I’m trying not to do, but we wouldn’t have offered him what we’ve offered him if we didn’t want him to be here.”
Lamb is coming off a first-team All-Pro season with the Cowboys.
He was the NFL’s receptions leader, setting franchise records in both receptions and receiving yards in a season along the way. He finished with 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns.
In his four seasons in the league, he has totaled 395 receptions, 5,145 receiving yards and 32 receiving touchdowns.
The 25-year-old, who is a three-time Pro Bowler, has been absent this offseason as negotiations continue for a long-term deal.
On his current contract, Lamb will be paid $17.99 million in 2024 on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal but would be a free agent at the end of the season, according to the NFL website.
According to ESPN, the Cowboys have offered Lamb a deal to make him the second highest paid wide receiver in the league, behind the $35-million-a-season deal Justin Jefferson has with the Minnesota Vikings.
Lamb did not report for voluntary workouts or mandatory minicamp earlier in the summer, and has been missing from training camp too.
He has not featured in either of the Cowboys’ preseason games and, with the start of the 2024 NFL season rapidly approaching – Dallas kicks off at the Cleveland Browns on September 8 – Lamb not playing in the opening games has become a real possibility.
However, one of Lamb’s star teammates isn’t worried about his availability for Week 1.
“CeeDee is a part of this brotherhood whether he likes it or not,” Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons said earlier in August. “He knows he’s not going anywhere. The business side, they’re going to take care of it – no doubt about it.
“On Week 1, he will be suiting up for the Dallas Cowboys.”