FRISCO, Texas ā Now that CeeDee Lamb has a contract that could keep him with the Dallas Cowboys through 2028, the All-Pro receiver is ready for the peace of mind that quarterback Dak Prescott will be with him.
Lamb went through the team's light workout Tuesday night, a few hours after signing the $136 million, four-year extension that ended his monthslong holdout.
Recommended Videos
Prescott is going into the final season of the club-record $160 million, four-year deal he signed in 2021. And coming off by far the best year with his No. 1 receiver.
Lamb led the NFL with 135 catches and had 1,749 yards receiving with 12 touchdowns. The 25-year-old has set career highs in all three categories each of his four seasons.
Prescott delivered all but a few dozen of those throws, and he and agent Todd France have been in off-and-on discussions with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for months on another big contract.
āYou look at our numbers together, theyāre at top of the charts,ā Lamb said. āI have no doubt that theyāre going to get a deal done. We all know I want Dak here. Jerry wants Dak here, too. Letās just get this under control, kill the speculations.ā
Lamb just lived through about eight months of similar speculations, all the way up until he got the number from agent Tory Dandy that he knew would be good enough for an agreement.
āIt was kinda crazy because he hit me with, āYeah, man. This is going south,āā Lamb said. āIām like, āWhat do you mean, itās going south? Itās time.ā And heās, āYeah, theyāre only going to pay you $34 (million) a year.ā Iām like, āBro, where do I sign?āā
The money is just shy of the largest contract for a non-quarterback in NFL history. The $140 million, four-year deal that receiver Justin Jefferson reached with Minnesota came the day before Lamb officially became a holdout when he didn't report to mandatory minicamp in June.
Lamb missed all of training camp in California, along with the entire offseason program. He hadn't been inside team headquarters since January, after Dallas' crushing 48-32 home wild-card loss to Green Bay.
The former Oklahoma standout was in Miami when the agreement was reached, but he spent plenty of time in the spring and summer at home, not far from team headquarters.
āIād drive by āThe Star.ā Iād look at it. Tempted to come in, obviously,ā Lamb said. āThen Iād go grab some food across the street.ā
The timing of the deal gives Lamb slightly less than two weeks to get ready for the opener Sept. 8 at Cleveland.
āI gotta get bumped a little bit,ā Lamb said. āNot so much hit, as Iām running, a little nudge. Those are just little things, contact balance. But again, I train for those. I feel like Iām more prepared than ever.ā
And that includes a 60-play day against the Browns, even without a training camp that Lamb acknowledged he wished he hadn't missed.
āYes, bro. No question. Iāll be ready,ā Lamb said.
Lamb was a little sheepish about his viral moment on social media during camp, when he responded with an ālolā to Jones saying he didn't feel a sense of urgency to get the Lamb deal done.
āHeās entitled to whatever heās got to say, as long as we get the deal done,ā Lamb said.
And once the deal was done, Lamb and Jones had āa businessman conversation,ā the receiver said. āJust have to (make it) clear that everything was behind us. Iām not worried about nothing. We got what we needed to get done. And now itās time for me to go ball.ā
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl