NFL

Lamb has support of Cowboys team-mates as contract holdout continues

By Sports Desk July 27, 2024

CeeDee Lamb has the sympathy of some Dallas Cowboys team-mates as he continues his training camp holdout in a bid to earn a blockbuster new contract.

Fifth-year receiver Lamb is set to make just under $18million in 2024 but is seeking a deal that would put him among the NFL's highest-paid WRs, with an annual salary of around $32m.

With no progress made in negotiations, he is yet to report to the team's preseason training camp, which began on Wednesday.

Guard Zack Martin and running back Ezekiel Elliott have both staged holdouts of their own in the past, the former missing three weeks of training last year before getting an adjustment to his contract and the latter missing the entirety of preseason in 2019.

That stand-off ultimately ended with Elliott landing a six-year, $90m contract that included $50m in guaranteed money, and he sympathises with Lamb's position.

"It's really tough because you go through your first three or four years and you guys are on the same side, and this is the first time that now you're going against each other," Elliott said on the dynamics of holding out.

"So, you've got to have a little thick skin. There's some little extra stuff that comes with it, but at the end of the day, we all have the same goal.

"The team understands that CeeDee needs to handle his business and CeeDee understands that he has the support of the team behind him. 

"Just stay in shape, which it looks like he's doing, and be ready to go once the deal gets done."

Martin agrees Lamb will have no problems with getting up to speed when he does return, saying: "He's just got to know that everyone in that locker room has got his back.

"We know hopefully he'll be out here sooner rather than later."

Lamb had 135 receptions from 181 targets through the 2023 season, which ended with the Cowboys suffering a stunning wild-card defeat to the Green Bay Packers.

Both of those figures were league highs, while only the Miami Dolphins' Tyreek Hill (1,799 yards, 13 TDs) bettered his 1,749 regular-season receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

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