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CeeDee Lamb Expected To Hold Out; Cowboys Not Looking To Set Market On Extensions

June 27th, 2024 at 10:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Talks between the Cowboys and CeeDee Lamb are expected to pick up this summer. The All-Pro wide receiver is in a contract year, but so is Dak Prescott. Although Micah Parsons seems fine with his extension talks coming next year, a recent rumor pointed to the Cowboys placing Prescott above Lamb in their extension queue.

Prescott certainly took his time maximizing his leverage during his first round of negotiations, which spanned three offseasons, and the standout quarterback carries considerable leverage this time around. Dak’s situation holding up Lamb’s could be tricky for the Cowboys, who are facing the likelihood of three players pushing for position-record extensions. If no extension comes, Lamb should be expected to test the team in the way Zack Martin did last year.

[RELATED: Micah Parsons Expects To Become Highest-Paid Non-QB]

Lamb is not expected to show for training camp unless he has an extension in place, according to the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins. This would not be a stunning move, as the fifth-year wideout skipped minicamp.

Of course, that drew barely a $100K fine. Players who skip training camp are subject to $50K fines for each day missed. Nick Bosa, however, provided a blueprint to such a road not costing a player in the hold-in era. Bosa held out, but the 49ers waived his fines. Teams are no longer allowed to waive fines for players, per the 2020 CBA, but an exception exists for players on rookie contracts. Lamb qualifies, as he is tied to a fifth-year option.

The Cowboys were unable to waive Martin’s fines during his 2023 holdout, but the team buckled and turned the final two years of his contract into a fully guaranteed agreement. Martin received $36.85MM guaranteed last summer. Lamb is likely angling for a contract at or very close to the Justin Jefferson level. Considering the Vikings gave Jefferson $26MM more in guaranteed money than any other wide receiver and $36MM more fully guaranteed than any wideout secured, the Cowboys have a complicated negotiation coming.

Cowboys officials have said they do not want to set markets with their extensions, Watkins adds. That may be an issue due to the leverage and/or caliber of players with whom they will negotiate. Progress remains elusive in talks with Prescott and Lamb.

Prescott cannot be franchise-tagged or traded, and after another restructure, the Cowboys would face a $40.1MM dead money bill if they do not extend him by the start of the 2025 league year. The Cowboys are preparing to make a strong offer, but Prescott played hardball during his first round of negotiations. It would surprise if the eighth-year vet did not bring forth a similar plan, especially as the QB market has hit $55MM per year ($15MM north of Dak’s AAV), this time around.

A contract that bridges the gap between the guarantees Jefferson and A.J. Brown secured would be sensible for the Cowboys, though they undoubtedly could have signed Lamb for cheaper had they done a deal in 2023. Dallas has received criticism for delays with Lamb and Prescott, and if Parsons negotiations do commence in 2025, he will be in a contract year as well. While the Cowboys have acted early on extensions (Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Ezekiel Elliott), they have not done so for a first-rounder in five years.

Jefferson secured $110MM guaranteed, topping Brown’s previous WR standard of $84MM. Tyreek Hill‘s $52.5MM guarantee at signing held the WR lead until Jefferson’s whopping $88.7MM number surfaced. The Cowboys have never guaranteed a receiver more than $40MM at signing, and they escaped the other $20MM guaranteed in Amari Cooper‘s deal by trading him to the Browns.

A Lamb payday factored into that trade, with Jerry Jones citing the elder WR’s contract as the reason for the trade. Lamb, 25, has taken off since Cooper’s exit, though the Cowboys have run into some trouble finding consistent receiving help over the past two seasons.

Lamb said in January he wanted to become the NFL’s highest-paid receiver. Three receivers — Jefferson, Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown — have since raised the bar, bringing good news for the Oklahoma alum. The Cowboys have one of the trickier contract gluts in recent memory. If they stick to extending Prescott first, Lamb’s resolve will be tested if/once a holdout commences.

Cowboys DE Sam Williams’ Role To Increase

June 26th, 2024 at 5:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dan Quinn did well to raid the Cowboys’ roster, signing three of the team’s free agents. Two of those additions — edge rushers Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler — are set to serve as Commanders defensive ends as the team regroups post-Montez Sweat and Chase Young.

The Armstrong and Fowler defections wound the Cowboys’ D-line, but they do not exactly gut the unit. Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence remain, and the Cowboys will gain a clearer picture of what they have in 2022 second-round pick Sam Williams. An earlier report pegged Williams as likely to play more in 2024; the Dallas Morning News’ David Moore indicates he is the lead candidate to be the Cowboys’ top rusher off the bench this season.

While the Quinn connection opened the door to Fowler and Armstrong making intra-NFC East relocations, Moore adds the Cowboys deeming Williams readier for more work helped lead the older pass rushers to Washington. Despite Williams missing two games as a rookie, he logged only 30 more defensive snaps (303) in 2023. With Armstrong (468) out of the picture, the former second-round pick will be a more important part of Dallas’ pass rush this season.

Williams, 25, recorded 4.5 sacks last season; that eclipsed his 2022 number (four). Though, the Ole Miss product tallied just nine QB hits. And his 17 QB pressures did not rank in the top five among Cowboys. Williams did total 10 tackles for loss as a rookie, showing signs of potential. Leading the way for the Cowboys’ DE3 role, Williams could begin a true course for a lucrative second contract by making strides this year.

This gig netted Armstrong a three-year, $33MM Washington accord, one that came after he played out a two-year, $14MM contract following Randy Gregory‘s about-face that closed an unusual round of negotiations. A month after Gregory’s Denver departure, the Cowboys chose Williams 56th overall. The team gave Fowler another one-year contract in 2023, however, restricting Williams’ upward mobility. The ex-Quinn Falcons charge played in all 17 games, totaling four sacks as a supporting-caster.

The Cowboys placed a premium on a well-stocked pass-rushing crew, drafting Western Michigan’s Marshawn Kneeland 56th overall. A rumored sleeper who booked 16 pre-draft visits, Kneeland joins Williams as a potential auxiliary rusher in Dallas. Williams compiled a better college resume, notching 20.5 sacks in his three Rebels seasons. Kneeland tallied 13 in five Western Michigan slates. But this duo stands to comprise Dallas’ top rotational options. It appears Williams will be asked to do more to start this season.

Latest On Cowboys’ RB Depth

June 25th, 2024 at 8:02pm CST by Ben Levine

With Tony Pollard no longer in the picture, the Cowboys are eyeing a committee approach at running back for the 2024 campaign. Old friend Ezekiel Elliott is back, but the veteran isn’t expected to carry a full workload during his age-29 season. Behind the veteran, the organization is rostering a number of intriguing but inexperienced options, leading some to wonder if the team could look to add to the position.

Jon Machota certainly shares that sentiment, with The Athletic reporter opining that the Cowboys will make “at least one more addition” to their running backs room. The Cowboys will likely take their time evaluating their current options, so Machota suggests an addition could even come “a few games into the season.”

If the team does roll with their current grouping, Machota believes Elliott will ultimately lead the team in touches, followed closely by Rico Dowdle. The former UDFA is coming off his most productive season in 2023, having collected 505 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. He also showed some talent in the receiving game, hauling in 17 of his 22 targets.

Behind that duo, the rest of the depth chart is “completely up in the air,” per Machota. That job could go to any of Royce Freeman, Malik Davis, or Deuce Vaughn, although the team is getting especially creative with the youngest option in that grouping. The team website recently noted that Vaughn was spotted taking reps as a slot receiver during OTAs, perhaps opening even more snaps for the second-year pro. The 2023 sixth-round pick got into seven games as a rookie, collecting 80 yards from scrimmage on 30 touches. At five-foot-six and 176 pounds, Vaughn certainly doesn’t profile as an every-down back, but the Cowboys could look to utilize him as a change-of-pace Swiss Army Knife.

Dalvin Cook is the biggest name remaining on the RB market, with the likes of Cam Akers, Joshua Kelley, Latavius Murray, Kareem Hunt joining him in free agency. If the Cowboys were interested in any of that grouping, they likely would have already added a player to their RB room. More likely, the front office is waiting for RBs to shake loose throughout the preseason.

QB Notes: Broncos, Mahomes, Lance

June 24th, 2024 at 3:21pm CST by Adam La Rose

By selecting Bo Nix 12th overall, Sean Payton and the Broncos added a potential franchise quarterback. Whether or not the uber-experienced college passer takes on starting duties as a rookie remains to be seen, though.

Denver used a rotation of Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson with the first-team offseason during spring practices. A report from earlier this month pointed to Nix being the favorite despite Stidham’s familiarity with Payton’s scheme. On that note, Troy Renck of the Denver Post confirms Nix “has ground to cover” relative to the 27-year-old who made two Broncos starts last season.

On the other hand, Payton has not been shy about praising Nix’s acclimation so far. The former Saints Super Bowl winner noted (via Renck’s colleague Parker Gabriel) the Oregon alum’s performances so far have matched the team’s expectations based on their pre-draft evaluations. As Renck adds, Nix could very well wind up getting the nod for Week 1. That would turn attention from Stidham’s perspective to a competition with Wilson for the QB2 gig.

Here are some other quarterback notes:

  • The top priority for NFL teams during this part of the year is having players avoid non-football injuries. As a result, the contracts of several players list specific activities which are deemed off-limits. In the case of Patrick Mahomes, that list includes basketball. The three-time Chiefs Super Bowl MVP would have the guarantees in his deal voided if he were to be injured playing basketball, as detailed by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. Mahomes’ monster extension was restructured again in March to create cap space, but it still runs through 2031. Plenty of rolling guarantees (in terms of both salary and bonuses) remain on the contract, giving him ample reason to play things safe.
  • Trey Lance is on the books with the Cowboys for one more season, with the team having made the unsurprising decision of declining his fifth-year option. The former 49ers top-three pick did not play last year, and it remains to be seen if he will serve as Dak Prescott‘s backup. Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes Lance is likely still behind Cooper Rush on the depth chart. The latter has made 26 appearances and six starts for Dallas, and he has one year remaining on his deal. With both Rush and Lance set to reach free agency next spring, their respective training camp and preseason performances will be key in determining the pecking order.
  • Taulia Tagovailoa‘s pro football career will begin north of the border. The CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced Tua Tagovailoa‘s younger brother signed with the team. Taulia began his college tenure at Alabama, but he transferred to Maryland and enjoyed a successful four-year run there. Tagovailoa, 24, broke the Big Ten’s all-time records for passing yards (11,265) and completion percentage (67.1%) with the Terrapins before going undrafted into the NFL this year. He received a look from the Seahawks and Cardinals during their minicamps, but his attention will now turn to earning playing time in Hamilton.

Cowboys Work Out UFL DE Jonathan Garvin

June 19th, 2024 at 7:12pm CST by Ben Levine

Following a standout season in the UFL, Jonathan Garvin is attracting interest from NFL squads. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the defensive end worked out for the Cowboys today.

The former seventh-round pick out of Miami managed to stick on the Packers roster for the first three years of his career. His largest role came in 2021, when he got into about 40 percent of his team’s defensive snaps while compiling 19 tackles and 1.5 sacks. His defensive snaps were cut in half during the 2022 campaign, and the lineman ended up getting cut by the Packers last July.

Garvin didn’t get an NFL gig during the 2023 campaign, but he ended up reemerging with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL. He had a productive season for the eventual league champs, finishing with 20 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

At only 24 years old, Garvin still has plenty of upside. The 6-foot-4, 257-pound defensive lineman would be hard pressed to earn snaps behind Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence, and it’s worth noting that the organization recently used a second-round pick on defensive end Marshawn Kneeland. If Dallas ends up adding the UFL standout, the player will likely be competing with the likes of Sam Williams, Durrell Johnson, and Viliami Fehoko Jr. for one of the final DE spots. Garvin’s experience on special teams provides him with an additional path to a roster spot.

Cowboys Sign CB Gareon Conley, LB Willie Harvey Jr.

June 18th, 2024 at 2:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

The UFL’s first season is complete, and teams can now officially sign players who took part in the merged league. The Cowboys are among those who will do so, and their effort will bring a former first-round pick back into the NFL.

Gareon Conley is signing with the Cowboys, according to the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins. This comes after the team worked out the former Raiders first-rounder last week. The Cowboys are also adding UFL linebacker Willie Harvey, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. Harvey also auditioned for Dallas at its minicamp as well.

For Conley, this will be a path back to the NFL after a lengthy hiatus. Conley was last in the league as a Texan in 2020; he has not seen game action since 2019. The Cowboys have since announced the signing, which will reunite Conley with Paul Guenther. The new Dallas assistant served as Oakland’s DC from 2018-19. The Raiders drafted Conley in the 2017 first round and used him as a starter during the 2018 and ’19 slates, trading him to the Texans midway through the ’19 season. Guenther is the Cowboys’ run-game coordinator on defense.

Dallas worked out both Conley and ex-Giants first-rounder Deandre Baker. Both played for the D.C. Defenders during this UFL season. Conley, who will turn 29 later this month, intercepted two passes this season. Despite Baker earning All-UFL acclaim, he has not landed an NFL gig yet. As Conley earned a CB spot, Watkins adds no Baker deal is expected.

Part of a lengthy line of Ohio State first-round corners, Conley saw an injury interrupt his progress. He played in just two games as a rookie but received a long look during Jon Gruden‘s early seasons at the helm. The Raiders used Conley as a 20-game starter from 2018-19. Pro Football Focus assigned the 6-foot cover man mid-pack grades from 2018-19; he finished the ’19 season — after the Raiders and Texans agreed on a trade involving a third-round pick going to Houston — as a starting CB for a playoff team. Conley, who intercepted three passes in 2018, closed the ’19 season as a full-time Texans starter who worked with the first-stringers in both Houston playoff tilts that year. Conley missed the 2020 season due to a nagging ankle injury and fell off the NFL radar soon after.

This certainly represents an interesting comeback opportunity, seeing as it has now been more than four years since Conley last logged NFL game action. But the Cowboys have shown an eye for talent out of the spring leagues in recent years, having found Pro Bowlers Brandon Aubrey and KaVontae Turpin via the USFL.

The Cowboys are planning to use a Trevon Diggs–DaRon Bland–Jourdan Lewis trio atop their CB depth chart, and the team has some recent draftees — former third-rounder Nahshon Wright and recent Day 3 investments Eric Scott Jr. and Caelen Carson — as backup options. Veteran C.J. Goodwin, 34, remains on Dallas’ roster as well. While teams can stash more vested vets on practice squads compared to the setup when Conley last played, his age would complicate that route. Still, Dallas will give the former top prospect an opportunity to make an unexpected return.

Several teams showed interest in Harvey, per Pelissero, but the Cowboys workout will lead the UFL linebacker to the NFC East. Harvey, who led UFL LBs in tackles (76) while tallying four sacks, last played as a Browns reserve in 2021. Harvey, 28, played four NFL games after entering the league as a UDFA out of Iowa State in 2019.

Cowboys Aiming To Finalize Dak Prescott Extension Before CeeDee Lamb?

June 17th, 2024 at 10:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

With minicamp now in the books, the period leading up to Cowboys’ training camp will be dominated by progress on extension talks for Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons. The latter is under contract for two more years, so he is not as pressing of a financial priority this summer.

Prescott has firmly remained in Dallas’ plans beyond the 2024 campaign, one in which he is set to carry a cap hit of $55.13MM. With no-tag and no-trade clauses in his deal, last season’s MVP runner-up has plenty of leverage in a potential bid to reach the top of the quarterback market. A report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler earlier this month indicated the Cowboys are set to make a “strong offer” to keep Prescott in the fold.

To little surprise, that has placed the 30-year-old at the top of the pecking order in terms of lucrative Dallas extensions. Fowler noted in a recent SportsCenter appearance that the Cowboys want to work out the Prescott accord before those of Lamb and Parsons (video link). Such an approach would come as little surprise, considering the respective cap situations of the three players and the nature of the quarterback (as opposed to receiver and edge rush) markets.

Prescott is a candidate to set a new standard in terms of annual average compensation on his next deal; both Joe Burrow (Bengals) and Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars) are currently at $55MM in that regard. The former fourth-rounder has publicly stated that his latest round of negotiations will not be as centered on finances as the last one, and the extent to which that holds true will be a key factor in this process. As Fowler confirms, the Cowboys have not yet aggressively engaged in extension talks with Prescott.

If that continues for the time being, Lamb will be left to wait for serious negotiations of his own. The three-time Pro Bowler did not take part in OTAs or mandatory minicamp as he continues to seek out an extension. Lamb has seen Justin Jefferson reset the top of the receiver market with his $35MM-per-year Vikings pact, and his own value could be similar. Given the surge in lucrative receiver pacts signed by other top producers at the position recently, Lamb will have significant leverage after any potential Prescott deal is hammered out.

Of course, new agreements for either member of that pair will have to be made with Parsons in mind as well. Under contract in 2025 via his fifth-year option, Parsons is aiming to usurp Jefferson as the league’s top paid non-quarterback. The resources Dallas has available to meet that goal (likely next offseason) will largely depend on the progress made with Prescott and Lamb – in that order – during the near future.

NFL Contract Details: Rookies, Andrews, Shepard

June 15th, 2024 at 5:57pm CST by Ely Allen

Normally, the details of rookie contract signings don’t draw much note from the media. Most facets of the rookie contract are not up for negotiation, so by the book numbers don’t tend to interest the NFL world. Lately, though, NFL teams have gotten creative with how they deal with rookie deals, usually rewarding first- and second-round picks with guaranteed money.

Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 noted three second-round picks whose deals were reported recently. New Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil out of Michigan’s rookie deal will see the base salaries of his 2024 and 2025 seasons fully guaranteed and $897K of $1.5MM guaranteed from his 2026 salary. Dolphins rookie offensive tackle Patrick Paul from Houston will see similar guarantees. All of his base salary for 2024 and 2025 will be guaranteed along with $413K of his 2026 salary worth $1.42MM. Lastly, Cowboys rookie pass rusher out of Western Michigan, Marshawn Kneeland, will see his first two years fully guaranteed, as well. Kneeland will also see $322K of his 2026 base salary (worth a total of $1.42MM) guaranteed.

Here are some other details from recent contracts around the NFL:

  • We recently saw the Patriots grant center David Andrews a raise in a new extension. Ben Volin of the Boston Globe gives us further details on the new contract. He notes that Andrews was guaranteed $1.75MM of his $5MM for 2024. He also reports that the deal will reduce Andrews’ cap impact next year from $8.43MM to $6.68MM.
  • The Buccaneers recently signed former Giants receiver Sterling Shepard to a one-year, $1.38MM deal. Wilson of KPRC2 tells us that Shepard will be able to earn a $50K roster bonus if he’s on the active roster by Week 1 of the season. He’ll also have the opportunity to earn an additional $6,911 per game in active roster bonuses for a potential season total of $117,500.

Cowboys Sign DE Marshawn Kneeland, Complete Draft Class

June 11th, 2024 at 5:47pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cowboys have completed their draft class signings. The team announced that they’ve signed second-round defensive end Marshawn Kneeland.

The defensive lineman spent five years at Western Michigan, collecting 148 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks. He earned second-team All-MAC honors this past season after setting career-highs in tackles (57) and sacks (4.5). That performance helped make him the 56th-overall pick, with Kneeland representing the sixth defensive end off the board.

With Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence in place, the Cowboys won’t need to lean on the rookie in 2024. Kneeland will likely be competing with 2022 second-round pick Sam Williams for any leftover snaps.

Kneeland was the last of the Cowboys’ eight draft picks to sign. The rest of the team’s draft class includes:

Cowboys Audition CBs DeAndre Baker, Gareon Conley

June 11th, 2024 at 4:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Neither DeAndre Baker nor Gareon Conley‘s initial NFL runs lasted too long. Both first-round picks did not play a fourth NFL season, but each wound up in the UFL. Spring leagues have provided a springboard for second chances, and the Cowboys — who have led the way in value gained from the recent batch of American minor football leagues — are looking into both players.

NFL teams cannot sign UFL players until next week, as the merged league’s championship game is set for Sunday, but workouts are permitted this week. Several UFLers are receiving chances with NFL teams, and ESPN.com’s Todd Archer indicates the Cowboys are taking a look at Baker and Conley at their minicamp this week.

A 2017 Raiders first-round pick, Conley will turn 29 later this month. He has not played in an NFL game since Week 15 of the 2019 season. Conley spent the 2020 season on the Texans’ IR list. Houston had acquired Conley via trade from Oakland in October 2019. The Raiders had used the former No. 24 overall pick as a starter in every game that season leading up to the trade deadline but unloaded him for a third-round pick. This came early during the Jon Gruden-Mike Mayock years; Conley arrived during the Raiders’ final Reggie McKenzie-run draft.

Like Conley, Baker wound up with a second team after washing out early with the club that drafted him. An arrest led the Giants to waive Baker, a 2019 first-round pick, before the 2020 season. Robbery charges against the young cornerback ended up being dropped, and the Chiefs took a flier on the struggling defender. Baker played in 10 Chiefs games from 2020-21; the team waived him in August 2022. Baker allowed six touchdown passes as the closest defender in a 15-start rookie season.

Both Baker, 26, and Conley caught on with the D.C. Defenders before the inaugural UFL season. Conley intercepted two passes this season, while Baker landed on the All-UFL team last week. Neither player played in the XFL or USFL in 2023. The Cowboys have benefited considerably from the latter league, with both KaVontae Turpin and Brandon Aubrey becoming Pro Bowlers in their first seasons in Dallas. Aubrey earned first-team All-Pro recognition in his Cowboys debut.

Dallas is also working out the UFL’s tackles leader, Willie Harvey Jr., per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. The St. Louis Battlehawks defender totaled 76 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and nine tackles for loss this season. Harvey, 28, previously saw NFL time with the Browns from 2019-21, playing in just four games as a backup. Cleveland cut Harvey after its 2022 training camp. The Cowboys will see if Harvey’s UFL work has made him a better candidate for an NFL role.

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