CeeDee Lamb conducted an additional youth football session on Saturday. Once again, he refused to provide any statement regarding his contract.
“I refuse to speak,” Lamb stated, as reported by Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News.
It echoed what he told the team website 11 days ago after hosting his first camp.
Lamb’s camp was in Arlington on Saturday, returning the Cowboys’ WR1 to DFW. He told the 600 adolescent participants that it was “good to be home.”
Lamb, though, has not returned for work at The Star since the end of last season and is not likely to report to training camp in Oxnard, California, next week without an extension. He did not participate in any of the offseason program, including the mandated minicamp.
Because of Lamb’s holdout plans, the Cowboys are prioritizing Lamb’s contract over that of quarterback Dak Prescott, Watkins says. Prescott is anticipated for the first practice Thursday.
Lamb is due to make $17.99 million this year on the fifth-year option and is eligible for the franchise tag in 2025, but he wants to be paid as one of the top receivers in the NFL today. Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson and Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown are among the receivers who have gotten extensions this summer.
Lamb set single-season team marks for catches (135) and receiving yards (1,749) last season. He led the NFL in catches.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told TheAthletic.com this week that huge contracts like Lamb, Prescott and edge rusher Micah Parsons “take time” and conceded “it’s a challenge to keep everybody.”
Running back Ezekiel Elliott and right guard Zack Martin both held out into training camp in recent summers, and the Cowboys eventually granted both what they wanted before the season started. Will that work for Lamb?