National Football League

CeeDee Lamb proclaims 'I'll be in Dallas' as holdout rumors swirl

Updated Apr. 9, 2024 12:18 p.m. ET

CeeDee Lamb has assured Dallas Cowboys fans that he'll still be with the team when the 2024 season begins.

The Cowboys star receiver told TMZ he isn't planning to be elsewhere following a recent report from the Dallas Morning News that he'll likely hold out from the team's offseason activities.

"Absolutely," Lamb said when asked if he'll be with the Cowboys when the season begins. " … Yeah, I'll be in Dallas!"

Lamb is entering the fifth and final season of his rookie contract after getting the $17.99 million option picked up last offseason.

While the $17.99 million salary is the highest of Lamb's career, it doesn't match the production he's put up over the last few seasons compared to what other top receivers are set to make in 2024. Lamb's cap number for 2024 is the 16th-highest in the league and is well short of Tyreek Hill's $31.3 million cap number, which is the highest among all receivers.

Lamb has emerged as one of the game's best receivers shortly after the Cowboys selected him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He's recorded more than 1,110 receiving yards in the last three seasons. He led the league in receptions in 2023 (135), finishing second in receiving yards (1,749) and third in receiving touchdowns (12).

Despite the strong numbers, Lamb is just one of a handful of noteworthy members of the Cowboys' organization who are entering the final year of their current deals and haven't received an extension. Dak Prescott is entering the final year of his four-year deal, but it was recently reported that there's a mutual understanding between him and the Cowboys that it's unlikely he'll be extended. Mike McCarthy was retained as the Cowboys' head coach following a disappointing playoff finish, but he also wasn't extended by the team.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones proclaimed earlier in the offseason that the team is "all in" for 2024. But with the lack of extensions for key members of the organization and minimal noteworthy additions being made, "all in" could mean it's a boom or bust season for Dallas.

Cowboys, Dak Prescott agree to hold off on contract extension

Lamb isn't sweating too much over the offseason though.

"Relaxing, chilling, working out, of course," Lamb said when asked how the time off was going.

The Cowboys open their offseason workout program on April 15. The majority of the offseason workout program is non-mandatory, with the Cowboys' first mandatory workout sessions coming in early June. If Lamb misses those workouts, he's subjected to fines.