The Dallas Cowboys have played the slow game all offseason, with Jerry Jones sitting back and making very few significant moves while other teams in the NFL add new talent and lock down their top players with contract extensions.
While Jones is clearly committed to sticking by the current squad led by head coach Mike McCarthy and QB Dak Prescott — after three-straight 12-win regular seasons — it’s been interesting to see how the Cowboys owner and GM has decided to play a critical offseason when it comes to the team’s top players heading into 2024.
When the 2023 campaign came to an early end in the Wildcard loss against the Green Bay Packers, almost every NFL expert and insider believed the Dallas Cowboys would extend QB Dak Prescott as soon as possible, which would free up salary cap space to ink other deals with key players and add new talent to the roster.
Instead, Jones stated publicly he’s talked to Prescott and plans to let the Cowboys QB play out the final year of his contract, which means he will absorb a massive cap hit for 2024 and has a real chance of becoming a free agent after this season. New reports from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler now state the Dallas brass does in fact want to get a deal done with Prescott soon, but everything is up in the air as of now.
The Dallas Cowboys two other most important players, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons are also both entering the final year of their contracts and Jones — according to sources close to the team — plans to keep both All-Pro talents on the roster.
He used the franchise tag on Parsons and the assumption is the team will reach an extension with one of the best defensive players in the NFL before the end of 2024, while reports have continued to state the team plans to extend Lamb but as training camp nears, a deal still hasn’t been signed.
It would have been much smarter — and likely cheaper — if Jones would have taken a proactive approach and inked an extension with Lamb earlier, because with Monday’s unprecedented deal making Justin Jefferson the highest-paid non QB in the NFL, Lamb’s price tag keeps getting higher.
Dallas Cowboys Will Be Forced To Pay CeeDee Lamb Big-Time Money After Justin Jefferson Extension
According to a report from NFL insider Josina Anderson, contract negotiations between Lamb and the Cowboys will likely “speed up” following Justin Jefferson’s historic four-year, $140 million extension with the Minnesota Vikings that he signed today.
There has been a long list of lucrative wide receiver contract extensions his offseason. Aside from Jefferson’s record-setting deal, Amon-Ra St. Brown ($120 million), A.J. Brown ($96 million), Jaylen Waddle ($84.75 million), DeVonta Smith ($75 million), Nico Collins ($72.75 million) and Michael Pittman Jr. ($70 million) have also secured the bag.
CeeDee Lamb will presumably join that list any day now. He’s coming off a career year in which the 2020 Dallas Cowboys first-round pick tallied a league-high 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Lamb has exceeded the 100-catch and 1,000-yard marks in each of the last two seasons.
CeeDee Lamb, who has been in discussions with the Cowboys about a new deal, is having himself a day. pic.twitter.com/dnkD4pHeD1
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 3, 2024
With comparable numbers to Jefferson over the last three seasons, Lamb and his agent will likely not settle for a deal less than the one the Vikings star WR just signed.
Dallas Cowboys owner and de facto GM Jerry Jones has received ample criticism this offseason for failing to make any big splashes via trade or free agency. This after he said the Cowboys had an “all-in” offseason strategy following their playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Now, with Prescott’s future in question and an extension coming for Parsons, Lamb has backed the Dallas brass into a corner and can almost force them to make him the highest paid WR in the league.
Waiting only makes the move more expensive, but there is every reason to believe the team wants to keep Lamb in Dallas long-term.
Even if Dallas and Prescott end up parting ways after next season, No. 4’s successor would at least be set up nicely with Lamb as his main weapon.
It will be interesting to see if the Dallas Cowboys can find a way to keep their top three players on the roster for the foreseeable future — and right now — it feels like the 2024 season could be one of the most important in recent franchise history with massive decisions looming.
