Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has been an explosive player for the Dallas Cowboys these past few years, but is his time in Dallas coming to an end?
Lamb received plenty of accolades for his performance in the 2023-2024 season, including the NFL Moment of the Year award, two touchdowns in the 2024 Pro Bowl, and catching 135 passes for 1,749 yards, only 50 yards shy of Tyreek Hill receiving for 1,799 yards. This stacks him as one of the best wide receivers in the game.
So why is Dallas willing to lose such an asset? They need to level with themselves on several fronts. Especially with the amount that wide receivers can make.
Will the Dallas Cowboys Be Able to Pay CeeDee Lamb His Worth in 2024?
Does CeeDee Lamb Deserve to Be the Highest Paid WR?
As one of the best receivers in the NFL, Lamb must be compensated for his talents. The problem is how high the league has been compensating these kinds of players.
These statistics were reported on by ESPN:
Justin Jefferson – $35 million
J. J. Brown – $32 million
Amon-Ra St. Brown – $30 million
Tyreek Hill – $30 million
Jaylen Waddle – $28.3 million
When compared statistically, Lamb has the stats to back up his promise, ranking #1 in receptions, #2 in yards, and #2 in touchdowns. In other words, he deserves to be compensated just as well as other wide receivers in the league.
How CeeDee Lamb Compares to the Other Cowboy Receivers
A key question remains if the Cowboys lose Lamb, then who do they replace him with?
When compared to other wide receivers this past season, Lamb picked up almost 1,000 more receiving yards than any other player. Just like in the league overall, Lamb comes out first in every stat comparison (receptions, yards per reception, touchdowns) to his fellow Cowboys.
Even when you divide the number of receptions by the number of times targeted, you’ll see similar statistics:
CeeDee Lamb: 75.5%
Brandin Cooks: 69.6%
Michael Gallup: 66.6%
Jalen Tolbert: 61%
Three out of four times, if you throw the ball to Lamb, he’s going to come down with it and collect some yards too. He’s a reliable player. The other players on the team are good, but still aren’t on his level.
So if Lamb is valuable to the Cowboys and the league, what’s keeping the Cowboys from signing him for a hefty contract?
The Cowboys are Prioritizing Other Players
There’s a lot to consider during contract time. For instance, the Cowboys grew three major players into stars: CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott, and Micah Parsons.
Prescott’s stats are just as impressive as Lamb’s, comparing easily to Patrick Mahomes on the Kansas City Chiefs. He may be interested in becoming the highest paid quarterback in the league, taking on a contract worth $60 million per year. Paying Prescott handsomely doesn’t leave much room for his teammates to be paid nicely too.
It’s similar to Micah Parsons, who has dominated on defense all year and has become a real asset to the team. Do you risk losing Parsons to sign Prescott or Lamb? Possibly. These kinds of decisions are the ones that Dallas is balancing. It isn’t easy to decide which would be the best play when multiple players of exciting talent on the same squad.
Unfortunately, all three players are necessary pieces of the puzzle. But with the league putting caps on every team, it makes it difficult to keep dynamic players.
We’ll See What Dallas Decides to Do
Of course, the Cowboys can forsake Prescott and make a move for Trey Lance, the backup quarterback they added into the mix during trades. They’ve already made moves to add more receivers by drafting Ryan Flournoy and picking up Corey Crooms, Cam Johnson, and Tyron Johnson. Maybe there’s a greater play already going on in the minds of the Cowboys managers.
Many of the major decisions on contracts might not be resolved until training camp opens, which should happen in just a few weeks on July 25th. By then, we’ll know if Lamb will continue to play for the Cowboys, or if a new jersey will be in his sights.
Main Photo: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
