Emmitt Smith criticizes Dallas Cowboys' handling of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb negotiations

Cowboys fans might’ve heard the comments Dallas owner Jerry Jones made about his non-urgency to sign CeeDee Lamb. The same might be true for Dak Prescott. Well, former superstar Emmitt Smith took issue with team ownership before that happened.

Yes, Smith was irritated, disappointed, mad — pick a word — about what’s unfolding with the Cowboys. And the owner of three Dallas Super Bowl rings said it before Jones made his own statements out in Oxnard, Calif., the team’s summer home.

Smith did an interview with SB Nation about how he believes the Cowboys are making mistakes with what’s happening with Lamb. The record-setting receiver is holding out of training camp until (or if?) he can get a heftier contract. He’s set to make $17.99 million this fall. The best NFL receivers, like Justin Jefferson, landed raises that placed their annual salaries $10 million to $17 million higher.

“He is a very, very valuable asset to the Dallas Cowboys,” Smith said of Lamb. “He is a very, very valuable asset to Dak Prescott. Without (Lamb) on the football field, they’re putting all of the pressure on Dak Prescott now. And that is unacceptable. Because every quarterback of his caliber should have quality people to throw the ball to. Not no Plan B or no Plan C or no Plan D guy.”

Smith added: Prescott “should be in a position, as your franchise quarterback, he should be in a position to be successful. … Right now you putting him behind the eight ball. And that is not right. And that’s how I see it.”

Cowboys juggling contracts for 3 superstars, but Lamb is only training camp holdout

The Cowboys have three superstars who they need to deal with financially sometime soon. Obviously, thete’s Lamb, who caught 135 passes for for 1,749 yards and a dozen touchdowns. He was targeted 181 times. That’s how significant he was to the Cowboys offense.

But just this week, Jones said he doesn’t feel an urgency to get Lamb signed and in camp. Jones reasoned that Dallas was using practice for the younger receivers.

Meanwhile, the. Cowboys also are in contract talks with Prescott as he enters his final season under contract in Dallas. Plus, the Cowboys need to give Micah Parsons more money. Dallas picked up his fifth option, so he is under contract through 2025.

Smith moved on from contracts to what he feels is an overall disconnect between Cowboys management and the loyal fans, who are feeling “fan fatigue.”

“Over the last 20-some odd years, watching our team get to the playoffs time and time again, being told that we’re going to do better,” Smith said. “This is going to be a Super Bowl year for us. And we just get completely let down. It’s like fan fatigue now. It’s all of that going on right now. And people are sick and tired of watching it. And they want to see something different.”

There’s more to his Cowboys rant. “And we have to try, as an organization, we have to go and do a complete assessment in terms of the organization itself. What is our mission? And how does our mission align with the football team? On the surface we would think everything is in alignment. But to me, I think there’s a little disconnect there. And we need to resolve that fairly quickly because 20-some odd years, man, that’s a long time.”