OXNARD, California. — CeeDee Lamb made it clear he wants to stay with the Dallas Cowboys for a long time, and his wish is coming true. The two-time All-Pro receiver has ended his summer break and agreed to a new multi-year deal that keeps him in North Texas just one day before the team holds its first official training camp in Frisco – putting him in the same tax bracket as the best receivers in the entire NFL.
Now he’s ready and can’t wait to report to the facility. And he doesn’t have much time to prepare as the Cowboys prepare to face the Cleveland Browns in 13 days.
The contract is for four years and has a maximum value of $136 million with a signing bonus of $38 million and $100 million guaranteed, according to several reports, including NFL.com.
The club had initially opted to exercise Lamb’s fifth-year option through 2024, but will no longer need it — the Justin Jefferson and Tyreek Hill megadeals set to close this summer will serve as the catalyst to get Lamb’s contract extension in Dallas finalized. The news comes shortly after owner and general manager Jerry Jones made headlines with his response to a question about the “urgency” of getting the deal done, and Lamb responded with a digital laugh.
Jones then rephrased his comments, and the prediction of Stephen Jones, executive vice president and director of player personnel, was most accurate: He said there was never “any thought that Lamb would not be a Dallas Cowboy.”
After Dak Prescott told Lamb he would “get his money,” Micah Parsons guaranteed that the All-Pro wideout would “start for the Dallas Cowboys” against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1.
In early April, when he was absent from the Cowboys’ voluntary offseason conditioning workout but was still training outside the building at the time, Lamb made a statement that he has now officially made good on.
“Winning – I’m excited to win and be out there with my guys and get another go,” Lamb said. “…Yes, I’ll be in Dallas!”
The former 17th overall pick out of Oklahoma in 2020, a Louisiana native who lived in South Texas after Hurricane Katrina, hit the ground running as a rookie for the Cowboys and hasn’t looked back since.
The 25-year-old has recorded 3,396 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns in his three-year career – with an average of a solid 13.1 yards per reception – and has added two Pro Bowl honors to his resume in addition to the aforementioned All-Pro nominations.
The 2022 season was the first to showcase Lamb’s ascension to WR1 in Dallas in the post-Amari Cooper era, as he set career highs in both receiving yards (1,359) and touchdowns (9) – Lamb was the most explosive offensive playmaker this season alongside running back Tony Pollard.
With the former in top form, the Cowboys offense ranked first in points per game after Dak Prescott returned from his injury in Week 7.
The front office then traded Brandin Cooks in the offseason to use him as a tandem with Lamb and hoped-for resurgent Michael Gallup, although the latter has since been released and former third-round pick Jalen Tolbert is instead considered the favorite for that role in 2024.
That means Dallas’ receiver corps has suddenly become younger and less experienced, and Cooks is also entering a new contract year, making it all the more important to ensure Lamb stays in the Cowboys’ uniform.
This is especially true when you consider that Lamb finished his 2022 season with a bang in 2023, setting new career highs in receiving yards (1,749), receiving touchdowns (12), average receiving yards per game (102.9), catch percentage (74.6%), first downs (80), yards per target (9.7), total targets (181), total receptions (135), receptions per game (7.9), rushing yards (113) and rushing touchdowns (2).
With his 10 catches for more than 150 yards in three consecutive games, he set a new NFL record for most pass catches and yards in a three-game stretch, while his Week 17 performance against the Detroit Lions with 13 catches for 227 yards broke the record for most pass catches and receiving yards in a game long held by Hall of Fame playmaker and fellow 88 Club resident Michael Irvin.
This is not the type of talent you let leave the organization, and the Cowboys management never had any intention of doing so.
