Dallas City News

Report: Cowboys prioritizing CeeDee Lamb’s contract – Charean Williams, PFT

Let’s just make it easy and get both done.

“I’m not talking,” Lamb said, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News.

Lamb, though, has not reported for work at The Star since the end of last season and is not expected to report to training camp in Oxnard, California, next week without an extension. He did not participate in any of the offseason program, including the mandatory minicamp.

Because of Lamb’s holdout plans, the Cowboys are prioritizing Lamb’s contract over that of quarterback Dak Prescott, Watkins reports. Prescott is expected for the first practice Thursday.

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told TheAthletic.com this week that big contracts for Lamb, Prescott and edge rusher Micah Parsons “take time” and admitted “it’s a challenge to keep everybody.”

Running back Ezekiel Elliott and right guard Zack Martin both held out into training camp in recent summers, and the Cowboys eventually gave both what they wanted before the season started. Will that work for Lamb?

PFF50: The 50 best players in the NFL ahead of the 2024 season – Sam Monson, PFF

The two Cowboys on the list should come as no surprise.

5. EDGE Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys

Micah Parsons became just the fourth player in the PFF era to record 100 or more pressures in a single season, finishing the 2023 regular season with 103 from his 17-game slate. He is one of the most dynamic and explosive pass-rushers the game has ever seen, and he played the purest pass-rushing role of his career so far this past year. Only Myles Garrett had a higher pass-rush win rate than the 24.1% Parsons managed, and his pressure rate was the top mark in the league.

20. WR CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

CeeDee Lamb’s career progression has been impressive to watch. He has improved each year, and only Tyreek Hill gained more yards over the 2023 regular season. Lamb’s 91.1 PFF overall grade was tied for the third-best mark in the game, and his 2.78 yards per route run also represented a new career high. At just 25 years old, Lamb is only getting better, and may not be done improving yet.

The Raiders are returning to Southern California for training camp, but they’re not allowed to tell you – Paul Gutierrez. ESPN

League policy forbids the Raiders from promoting their training camp in Orange County, because the Rams and Chargers hold territorial marketing rights to the area. So what about the Cowboys, you wonder?

The Raiders, who called Los Angeles home from 1982 through 1994 and maintain their massive popularity in SoCal, are heading to Costa Mesa in neighboring Orange County for 18 days of training camp, with veterans reporting Tuesday and breaking on Aug. 9. Yet because of NFL policy, the Raiders cannot promote their presence.

No billboards. No newspaper ads or radio commercials. Las Vegas media can cover camp, but no invites for L.A. or Orange County media. Nor will practices be open to fans, though some VIPs, select season-ticket holders, sponsors and invited guests will be allowed into the Jack Hammett Sports Complex, about 40 miles south of SoFi Stadium.

“Every club has an exclusive home territory extending 75 miles in all directions from the exterior corporate borders of the city for which it holds a franchise,” per league policy. “If another club holds its preseason training camp within that exclusive territory then it cannot be marketed locally.”

The Cowboys have been in Oxnard off and on since 2001, before the Rams and Chargers returned to the Los Angeles area, and were essentially grandfathered in with clearance for marketing and open practices.

5 Cowboys training camp storylines: The 2nd-year jump, Calvin Watkins, DMN

Contracts, Elliott, and the rookies will dominate the headlines, but Watkins suggest to keepan eye on the bounceback candidates.

Second-year jump and the bounce back

McCarthy often speaks about rookies taking a second-year jump after struggling in Year 1. That’s the case with defensive tackle Mazi Smith and tight end Luke Schoonmaker, who went through offseason shoulder surgeries and will require bounce-back seasons.

Last year, Smith struggled in the defensive scheme and figured he needed to lose weight to adjust. He’s bulked up and will be in a scheme that should feel more comfortable. Schoonmaker had to overcome the plantar fasciitis he initially suffered in college, which led to a slow start. The Cowboys believe having him healthy will be a nice complement to Jake Ferguson.

Another player who requires a bounce-back season is veteran right tackle Terence Steele. He started last season on time, but the Cowboys believe his struggles were partly because he was recovering from the torn ACL he suffered at the end of the 2022 season. Getting off to a strong start at camp might calm anyone concerned about his long-term future.

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Cowboys backup keeps feeding into ridiculous Patrick Mahomes comparison – Cody Williams, FanSided

The odds that Trey Lance will be the next Mahomes are incredibly low. But it is technically not zero.

Cowboys backup QB Trey Lance only feeding into Patrick Mahomes comparison

Coming into the draft and after the 49ers selected Lance third overall in 2021, the North Dakota State product drew some comparisons to Mahomes given his physical tools but overall raw profile, though much more so than the Chiefs QB when he was coming out of Texas Tech as a draft prospect.

Those comparisons have obviously since dissipated quite a bit as Lance was ultimately usurped on the 49ers by Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy, leading to his trade to the Cowboys. However, with his rookie contract nearly at an end, Lance is still looking to find a place in the NFL, starting wtih backing up Prescott in Dallas.

In eight regular season games in which Lance has appeared in to this point (all with the Niners), he has a 54.9% completion rate with 797 passing yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s also rushed 54 times for 235 yards and a touchdown when he’s played as well.

Lance, however, did not spend the 2023 preseason with the Cowboys but played in two games for the 49ers, completing 22-of-33 passes for 285 yards for two touchdowns and an interception. He’ll have that opportunity to prove himself to Dallas this offseason, however, which he’s obviously putting in the work to try and make the most of.

Having said that, Lance feels like another piece of the puzzle that feeds into the ever-present drama with America’s Team. Working with Mahomes’ coach may be a good choice to try and get his mechanics and footwork right given his inexperience as he came into the league. But at the same time, it only adds to the spotlight that’s on this QB room and a franchise that’s seemingly always mired in some sort of turmoil.

NFL analyst has Cowboys position unit ranked oddly low – Randy Gurzi, Sports Illustrated

Do the Cowboys have a middling front seven?

As good as he’s been, his performance alone isn’t enough to push the Cowboys front seven into the top tier of NFL rankings. In fact, they were ranked oddly low as Sharp Football Analysis has them in the middle of the pack in their 2024 front seven rankings.

In their analysis, they do praise Parsons but add that the team as a whole was just 16th in the NFL in pressure rate.

“Dallas ranked 16th in pressure rate in 2023 despite Micah Parsons setting a career-high in sacks and finishing in the top three for Defensive Player of the Year voting for the third consecutive season.” — Ryan McCrystal, Sharp Football Analysis

One factor that hurts Dallas is the loss of Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler, Jr. While the Cowboys believe Sam Wiliams and rookie Marshawn Kneeland can replace them, the only proven commodities on the edge remain Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.

They’re also hurt by their lack of a true presence at nose tackle. Mazi Smith is slated to start this year but left a lot to be desired as a rookie. Next to him is Osa Odighizuwa, who has been solid but could be asked to do more heavy lifting with Smith at the 1-tech.