Dak Prescott is getting used to being on the football field with CeeDee Lamb. Of the 590 passes he threw last season, 559, or 94.6%, went through Lamb's route.They connected 133 times in 2023, the fourth-most completions between a duo in NFL history.
Things may look very different in the weeks and even months ahead.
The Cowboys will begin their spring training program on April 15th. Lamb won't be on the field unless his contract extension is expected to make him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history. At least, this is a precedent he seems certain to follow.
Lamb's agent, Tory Dundee, did not respond to a request for comment on whether Lamb will accompany his teammates to the Star's Ford Center for the Cowboys' spring training. But, of course, Dandy and Ram know that attendance for most of the spring is voluntary.
The Cowboys know that, too.
“Everyone does things differently,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said last month at the league's annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. [Ezekiel Elliott] He was never around when he wanted a contract. So we've addressed both.
“We respect Zeke, but you want him to be around for the duration of his contract. It's part of the business. You don't like it, but it's part of the business.”
Lamb took charge of his business last year.
He had a league-high 135 receptions, 1,749 yards, and 12 touchdowns. His catch and yardage totals broke Michael Irvin's franchise records. He caught 10 or more passes in an NFL-record seven games. Six of his cases occurred in his last 11 weeks.
Lamb, who turned 25 on Monday, will be paid $17.99 million based on a fifth-year team option.
His estimated value exceeds Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill's annual earnings record of $30 million. Hill signed that contract in 2022. Since then, the league's salary cap has increased by 22.7%. For context, a player worth $25 million in 2022 will consume the same percentage of a team's unadjusted cap as a player worth $30.7 million in 2024. Similarly, Hill's average cap share of $30 million in 2022 is currently $36.8 million.
In other words, $17.99 million won't cover it.
Lamb and Hill were named first-team All-Pros by The Associated Press in 2023.
Lam is an elite player looking to reap the rewards of resetting the market. Playing in the spring under the team option on his rookie contract is not something elite players do.
San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Nick Bosa and New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Both were named AP First Team All-Pro in 2022. The following spring, they did not report for their fifth-year option and missed all team workouts.
Player participation is not mandatory until minicamp in June.
The Jets canceled their 2023 minicamp, so missing a mandatory event was not a decision Williams had to make. He signed a four-year, $96 million extension before training camp.
Skipping voluntary training was standard procedure for Botha. He does so every year, choosing to train in Florida with his older brother, Los Angeles Chargers outside linebacker Joey Bosa.
When it came time for mandatory minicamp, Nick Bosa participated but did not practice. A few weeks later, he didn't participate in training camp at all. Bosa held out for 43 days before signing a five-year, $170 million contract, making him the highest-paid defenseman in NFL history.
Bosa admitted that his missed holdouts during the season hampered his performance.
For the sake of both the Cowboys and the Rams, I hope that doesn't happen.
Lamb could miss several weeks of the team's spring training program before missing one rep with Prescott. As stated in the collective bargaining agreement, his first two weeks of on-field activity will be devoted solely to strength and conditioning. Coordinator Mike Zimmer's first live reps with the defense won't take place until team activities are organized.
Six OTA practices begin May 24th.
Mandatory minicamp runs from June 4th to June 6th. The Cowboys can fine players up to $101,716 for missing a three-day minicamp in June without an excuse. A possible workaround would be to “hold on” rather than hold back, reporting to the team facility but not attending practice.
Every offseason, Prescott throws to receivers outside the team facility.
So it's possible that he and Lamb were able to have a heart-to-heart during the session, even if they were in the middle of a contract dispute. Otherwise, Prescott will focus his facility personnel with a wide receiver corps that includes Brandin Cooks, Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks, Kavonte Turpin, Jalen Cropper and Martavis Bryant.
Prescott targeted Lamb 179 times last season. Every other Cowboys wide receiver he played, combined he drew 182 targets. That latter number drops to 127 if you exclude Michael Gallup, who the team released in March.
This spring could be very different.
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