CeeDee Lamb expected to hold out of Cowboys spring workouts amid contract negotiations

The Dallas Cowboys begin their voluntary spring workout program next week but there could be one very notable absence. Amid his ongoing contract discussions with the team, former first-rounder CeeDee Lamb is expected to sit out of the workouts. Though Lamb’s agent, Tory Dandy, did not confirm those plans to the Dallas Morning News when asked for comment, the precedent is there for the wide receiver to skip the voluntary workout program. The Cowboys have done little to incentivize his participation, though they would like for him to be there.

Last month at league annual meetings in Orlando, Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones opened up about the potential for a holdout. He cited former first-rounder Ezekiel Elliott as an example.

“Everybody goes about it a different way,” Jones said. “We’ve had guys who have been around. [Ezekiel Elliott] was never around when he was wanting a contract. So, we’ve dealt with both. We respect Zeke, but you prefer that they’re around when they’re under contract. It’s part of the business.

“You don’t love it, but it’s part of the business.”

Lamb is still very much under contract with the Cowboys, but he’d like a long-term deal. The team exercised their right to a fifth-year option for the former Sooner last year, which makes his 2024 salary $17.9 million. It’s a hefty price tag, but still less than he’d receive as a free agent.

For now, the Cowboys’ activities are voluntary. That changes when mandatory minicamp comes around in early June. The team’s spring workouts are exclusively for strength and conditioning, as outlined by the CBA.

Lamb ‘more valuable’ than anyone else

Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones called Lamb “more valuable” than anybody else amid his contract talks. This season, he posted 1,749 receiving yards (second in the league) and 12 touchdowns (third in the league) on 135 receptions (first in the league). His connections with Dak Prescott came in fourth in NFL history between a QB-WR duo.

“He’s out there and he’s more valuable than anybody else,” Jones said at annual league meetings last month. “But (being) that valuable, to have to give up four or five players to have him, you have to get that reconciled. That’s what I’m trying to say. It’s a lot quicker and easier said than done.”

After leading the league this season with 135 receptions, Lamb told teammate Micah Parsons on his The Edge podcast that he wants to be “one of” the top-paid receivers in the league, if not the highest-paid. Right now, Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is the highest-paid with a per-year average salary of $30 million. More than a dozen NFL wide receivers are currently making over $20 million a year for 2024.