The Dallas Cowboys have been without star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb during offseason team activities and now into training camp, as he seeks to secure a more lucrative contract. Iconic former Cowboys player Emmitt Smith has expressed his displeasure, criticizing how his former team has handled the situation.
Presently, the two sides remain far from a contract agreement, leaving the Cowboys poised to start the preseason without quarterback Dak Prescott's biggest weapon on the field.
Emmitt Smith shared his unfiltered thoughts during an interview with RJ Ochoa of Blogging the Boys, stating that it's “unacceptable” how things have played out so far, given the impact it will have on quarterback Dak Prescott.
“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. He should be in a position, as your franchise quarterback, he should be in a position to be successful. And right now you putting him behind the eight ball. And that is not right. And that’s how I see it.”
Ochoa then offered the following context to the conversation, explaining that Smith clarified his own contractual situation that kept him out of action during his playing days is a completely separate issue compared to Lamb's.
“I asked Emmitt about his own contractual situation with the Cowboys in 1993 and characterized it as a holdout. Before this answer about CeeDee he offered clarity on how his situation was not a holdout,” Ochoa wrote. “He noted he was in need of an entire new deal with no existing time left on the one he was coming off of which differentiated his situation from CeeDee.”
Obviously as many Cowboys fans know, Smith wound up missing the first two games of that season as a result of the situation. Dallas would go 0-2 before winning the Super Bowl, the first 0-2 team in NFL history to do so.”
CeeDee Lamb is the top Cowboys receiver
A consensus All-American during his college career with the Oklahoma Sooners, CeeDee Lamb was selected by the Cowboys in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Since then, he has earned three Pro Bowl nominations and was named a First-team All-Pro in 2023. That season, he also set Cowboys franchise records for receptions (135) and receiving yards (1,749) in a single season.
Lamb is set to enter the final season of his rookie contract and would earn $17.99 million, though he wants to be paid like a top NFL wide receiver in the range of $32-35 million a season.
Follow Us
Subscribe