The Dallas Cowboys find themselves in an awkward position entering the 2024 season. Their head coach Mike McCarthy and several of their star players (CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons) are playing on short-term contracts with no word of imminent extensions. That situation has come to a head between the Cowboys and star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapaport, CeeDee Lamb is not present at Cowboys mandatory minicamp.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has since confirmed that Lamb is not present. McCarthy noted that “he's been engaged” with the team and that it is a “business decision.” He added that he has no issues with how his team's veterans prepare.
Lamb has not been present at voluntary OTAs are will not be reporting to minicamp. He will receive fines for missing minicamp.
Lamb is set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, which is worth $17.99 million in fully-guaranteed money.
Eventually the Cowboys will have to hand out a big contract if they want to keep their core of talented players together. While Dallas does have the franchise tag to work with, that approach will not work forever.
Parsons is playing on the final year of his rookie contract and can play on the fifth-year option next year. Prescott is in the final year of a 4-year, $160 million extension he signed before the 2021 season.
These contract situations, plus the fact that head coach Mike McCarthy is clearly on the hot seat, has caused some to question whether the Cowboys are waiting on the results of the 2024 season before making long-term decisions. If Dallas fails to achieve any postseason success again in 2024, they will be positioned well to blow up their core and start again if they so choose.
Cowboys will have new defensive scheme in 2024 under Mike Zimmer
The Cowboys are hoping that a change at defensive coordinator will help them get over the hump in 2024.
Mike Zimmer replaced Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator after Quinn left to take a head coaching job in Washington.
Zimmer recently spoke with ESPN about being back as a defensive coordinator in Dallas.
“At the end of the day, we've got to do it the way I want it done. I know if you try to come in and do somebody else's thing, it just doesn't go well,” Zimmer said, via ESPN.
Zimmer is an accomplished coach in the NFL, so it makes sense that he's seeking autonomy to do things his own way.
“It's like I told the defense the first day I got here. I said, this is a different deal for me. Usually when I come in, the defense is not good. You know? They're pretty darn good,” Zimmer said. “So it's a little different for me because we have to advance some of the things they were doing good and try to improve on the things they weren't doing as good. But for the most part they've played pretty darn good, and we're going to try to accentuate that and maybe be a little bit more technique-oriented, maybe a little bit more disciplined. Some of those things.”
Zimmer is certainly excited to figure out how best to use Micah Parsons and the rest of the stars on the Cowboys defense.
Parsons has been away from OTAs and drew some criticism from McCarthy, who noted that Parsons is falling behind others who are learning Zimmer's new scheme.
It will be interesting to see how the Cowboys defense changes in 2024.
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