December 10, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) reacts before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium. Credits: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports Jerry Jones seems to want to see the Dallas Cowboys enter a rebuild.
Neglect is the word that comes to mind when describing the Cowboys this offseason. They lost longtime left tackle Tyron Smith to the New York Jets. Tony Pollard went to the Tennessee Titans. Center Tyler Biadasz went to the Washington Commanders. The list goes on.
The most outrageous thing is that the Cowboys did not re-sign quarterback Dak Prescott or receiver CeeDee Lamb.
Entering his ninth season in Dallas, Jones is still hesitant to join Prescott for some reason. This offseason, we saw the quarterback market explode with huge deals for Jordan Love, Tua Tagovailoa, and Trevor Lawrence. But Prescott is still waiting and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
The same goes for his top weapon, Lamb, Dallas’ first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. During his first four years in the league, he solidified himself as one of the best pass catchers in football.
Jones also still won’t commit to Lamb. On Thursday, he said he “doesn’t have any sense of urgency” to get a deal done for his top receiver.
Maybe Jerry was bluffing. Maybe the Cowboys will make Lamb the highest-paid non-quarterback ever. Maybe this time, Dallas will break free and do the right thing.
But for now, Lamb has every right to be angry about the situation. He had 5,145 yards receiving and 32 touchdown receptions in four seasons. He is only 25 years old.
Lamb’s response to Jones’ comments today was entirely accurate.
Lamb had good reason to laugh out loud. The entire situation surrounding the Cowboys is laughable. His situation was just crazy. The Cowboys have a chance to lock down their own quality young receivers in their prime, but they won’t.
Then again, maybe Jones has some sort of master plan here. Maybe he doesn’t trust Mike McCarthy as the team’s head coach. But why wouldn’t you want to keep your superstar player?
There are at least 20 other NFL teams that would love to have Lamb on their roster. Of course, if the Cowboys don’t get off to a good start this season, they could trade Lamb for a king’s ransom before the NFL trade deadline. But even as Dallas heads toward a rebuild, I think Jones wants to have at least marketable stars.
The longer it goes on, the less likely he will become cheaper. He plans to compete in his fifth year. Jones should probably start feeling some urgency now that his star receiver is openly mocking him. So does everyone else.
