CeeDee Lamb has turned down the latest offer from the Dallas Cowboys following a recent meeting, further prolonging his holdout and signaling that negotiations between the star wide receiver and the team remain challenging.
The Cowboys and Lamb’s reps met via phone on Thursday, August 15, per Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News. Dallas is approaching $33 million per year with their offer to Lamb, which would make him the second highest paid receiver, behind only Justin Jefferson ($35 million).
Lamb wasn’t satisfied with the number and is looking for more, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
“My understanding is it’s around $33 million, and for Lamb, that’s still not good enough,” Garafolo said on Saturday, August 17. “The top of the market is $35 million with Justin Jefferson, so he wants that to come up. And the structure, I am told, via sources familiar with Lamb’s thinking, needs to be worked on as well — cash flow guarantees and how that will be structured on the front half of the deal.”
Lamb finished last season with a league-high 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Cowboys Not Concerned About Lamb’s Week 1 Availability
Lamb will miss his second preseason game on August 17 and has sat out all of training camp. However, the Cowboys are not overly concerned about Lamb’s holdout extending into the regular season.
“Obviously, we miss him,” star linebacker Micah Parsons said, per the Cowboys’ official site. “He’s one of the best people you can have in a locker room. I’m pretty sure he’ll be here soon.
“CeeDee is a part of this brotherhood whether he likes it or not. He knows he’s not going anywhere. The business side, they’re gonna take care of it — no doubt about it. … On Week 1, he will be suiting up for the Dallas Cowboys.”
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy echoed Parsons’ sentiment.
“We miss CeeDee. We love CeeDee. He’ll be great once he gets here. He’s in the middle of a business situation,” McCarthy said on Friday, August 9. “It’s like whatever happens in fight club stays in fight club. Whatever happens in business is his business. Yeah, we have all the confidence in just the way he works that he’s going to come in here ready to go and when that time comes will pick up like he never left.”
Cowboys Want More Out of CeeDee Lamb
Lamb has been one of the NFL’s most consistent and reliable receivers. But when he returns, the Cowboys expect even more production from their All-Pro pass-catcher.
“He’s going to touch the ball a ton — for what we’re going to have to pay him, he better,” Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones told Yahoo Sports. “I told Mike [McCarthy] things can’t change. He’s got to be targeted 12 to 15 times a game. You got to hand it to him a couple more times. So I don’t see that changing in the least bit.
“He’s our No. 1 go-to guy.”
Lamb averaged a little over 10 targets per game last season. He’ll be game for more work — when he returns to the team and settles his contract talks.
