FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is fresh off a 2023 campaign in which led the NFL in catches with 135, but he is currently slated to play out the final year of his rookie deal at age 25 entering 2024.
Thus, he is currently holding out in hopes for a new deal. Team owner and general manager Jerry Jones is in the process of waiting for "some more leaves to fall" regarding the top of the NFL wide receiver market. However, since he said that remark on April 23, the Tuesday before the 2024 NFL Draft, two leaves have fallen: The Detroit Lions re-signed wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown to a four-year, $120.01 million contract ($30.002 million average per year), and the Philadelphia Eagles re-signed receiver A.J. Brown to a three-year, $96 million deal ($32 million average per year). These two signings represent the two highest-paid wide receivers in the league on an average annual salary basis, while Lamb still remains without a contract.
His teammates fully support Lamb's holdout.
"My biggest advice for him is just keep grinding, which I know he's doing," Cowboys 10-year veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks said Wednesday at the 11th annual Reliant Home Run Derby for the Salvation Army. "Stay ready, which I know he's doing. So when he comes back out, there won't be any step lost."
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott anticipates Lamb's return by training camp, and like Cooks, he has no fear that Lamb is slacking off despite his absence at the Cowboys' spring workouts.
"Not necessarily," Prescott said Wednesday when asked if he has thrown with Lamb yet this offseason. "I know he's not in town right now, but we will get it in. Trust me. If we are roommates all July, if that's the case, it'll be fine. So no worries in that guy. I know what he's doing. I know how he's preparing. I know where he is. … So all confidence in the way that he's preparing and what he's doing and how he's going to [be ready]."
Lamb broke Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin's single-season catches and receiving yards records from the 1995 season in 2023, and his 862 yards from scrimmage trailed only 2023 Offensive Player of the Year San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey's 2,023 last season.
CeeDee Lamb NFL ranks (2023 season)
| NFL Rank | ||
|---|---|---|
Receptions | 135* | 1st |
Receiving Yards | 1,749* | 2nd |
Receiving TD | 12 | 3rd |
* Single-season Cowboys record
After Lamb recorded his first First-Team All-Pro season in 2023, Cooks has seen enough for him to reset their position's financial market.
"The guy is a freak," Cooks said. "He deserves everything that is coming his way, and I hope he gets every single dollar that he can and [be] the highest-paid receiver in the league because he's the greatest receiver in the league. No doubt."
