Dallas City News

Where Cowboys, CeeDee Lamb stand in contract talks ahead of training camp – Calvin Watkins, DMN

A source says CeeDee Lamb hasn’t decided whether he will hold out of training camp.

[Lamb is ] embroiled in a contract holdout that’s lasted the entire offseason and the way things are not progressing he won’t report to Oxnard, Calif., next week for training camp.

The good news is the Cowboys made Lamb their No. 1 priority. According to a person with knowledge of the front office’s thinking, the Cowboys are putting Lamb’s contract extension talks ahead of quarterback Dak Prescott’s.

Prescott is expected to be on the field next Thursday for the first training camp practice of the summer. You can finalize Prescott’s expected massive contract later with the understanding he’s coming to work.

When Lamb arrives in Southern California for work is unknown. A person with knowledge of Lamb’s thinking said a final decision hasn’t been made on whether he will continue his holdout when training camp starts.

The holdup or the holdout is caused by the Cowboys’ inability to construct a deal worthy enough to get Lamb to work. You could also view this as Lamb not being willing to compromise more to get a deal finalized.

2024 NFL training camp holdout predictions: CeeDee Lamb among big names to watch – Cody Benjamin, CBSSports

The Cowboys arrive in Oxnard on Wednesday, probably sans Lamb.

Fresh off a career year in which he led the NFL in catches, Lamb has basically all the leverage in his play for a long-term deal, with plenty of other teams rewarding their pass catchers this offseason and Dallas mightily dependent on his availability as Dak Prescott’s No. 1 target. It’s why the All-Pro felt comfortable enough absorbing fines to skip all of mandatory minicamp. The Cowboys will inevitably pay up, just as they may with Prescott, but maybe not until after Lamb makes another stand, forcing their hand.

Prediction: Holds out of camp

Dallas Cowboys training camp preview: biggest storylines – Eric Edholm, NFL.com

Training camp is not just about CeeDee Lamb. Two other storylines to watch:

4) Mike Zimmer is back to run the defense, and it will be fascinating to see if he can maintain the level of proficiency achieved by former coordinator Dan Quinn. The Cowboys weren’t quite the defense we expected last season, especially following the injury to cornerback Trevon Diggs, turning in some poor performances on that side of the ball down the stretch, namely against the Seahawks, Bills and in the playoff loss to the Packers. Quinn’s groups were highly reliant on forcing turnovers and almost exclusively unleashing Micah Parsons as a true rusher. I suspect Zimmer will do things a bit differently. The hope: Zimmer’s disciplined, no-nonsense approach helps clean up some of the sloppy run fits and busted coverages of the past few years. The fear: This type of scheme could take some of the teeth out of a big-play unit. Either way, the secondary looks pretty set, and Parsons leads a talented rush unit, so it would be disappointing if the NFL’s fifth-best scoring defense from last season took any major step backward.

5) How is the relationship between Mike McCarthy and Jerry Jones heading into this pivotal season and how much does that matter? Winning cures all, and the Cowboys have gone 36-15 the past three regular seasons. That has given McCarthy a chance to continue his quest in Dallas, but a 1-3 postseason mark (with two home losses) has undercut the head coach’s footing a bit. Hiring Brian Schottenheimer to help run the offense last year helped lead to top-five statistical marks, and McCarthy now has to hope that Zimmer has a similar effect on the defense. This might not be as talented a roster as Dallas had entering last season, and the pressure remains sky high as the futures of Prescott and McCarthy hang in the balance. Can the Cowboys make the Super Bowl run that has evaded them for 28 years? Or will this be a flashpoint season that leads to massive changes next offseason? That’s all that’s at stake heading into 2024.

With Dak dilemma, defensive changes and bills coming due, is this Cowboys’ last run? – Zachary Pereles, CBSSports

The Cowboys have a loaded, cheap roster, but at least one of those is changing soon, Pereles explains.

So that’s what Dallas will look like: A star quarterback going into his last year, a disgruntled star wide receiver, a superstar defender adapting to a new system, a solid amount of high-end talent around them — especially on defense with Parsons, Bland and Trevon Diggs — and a whole lot of pressure. Is it conducive to the team’s first conference title game appearance in 30 seasons? It’s hard to know.

Using consensus odds, the 49ers, Lions and Eagles all have shorter Super Bowl odds than the Cowboys (who are tied with the Packers) in the NFC. Dallas’ offseason of discontent led to relatively few upgrades compared to other teams. Could Dallas have been more aggressive at running back, wide receiver and run defense? Sure, perhaps if Jerry Jones was truly “all in” on maxing out every possible avenue for a title. But he’s not.

The Cowboys, plainly, are in win-now mode without having the best win-now roster they could. That doesn’t mean they can’t win, and win big. If Prescott exorcises playoff demons, anything can happen. But they’re making an awfully big bet on a lot going right, or else things could go very, very wrong within a few months.

The Cowboys are always a must-watch show, part sports, part drama, part mystery. This year will be no exception, and the stakes are arguably higher than they’ve ever been.

4 Cowboys’ rookies who could win starting roles in 2024 – Reid Hanson, Cowboys Wire

Here are a few rookies who could hit the ground running in their first year in the NFL.

Tyler Guyton, LT

This projection isn’t surprising in the least. The Cowboys essentially painted themselves in a corner before the draft even transpired. They knew they were picking a tackle and they knew they wanted that tackle to be the starter in his first year. At this point it’s more about the situation than it is about the player himself.

The Cowboys don’t want to move Tyler Smith outside to tackle so they are basically banking on Guyton to win the starting left tackle job. Without any great options on the depth chart to challenge the rookie, it’s Guyton’s job to lose.

Marist Liufau, LB

Inserting Liufau into a starting role requires some injury speculation but by no means to an unrealistic degree. In 2023 the Cowboys suffered season ending injures to two of their three assumed starters. Linebacker is a very physical position that sees a higher rate of injury than other positions.

The primary person standing in Liufau’s way at Mike linebacker just happens to be 32-year-old veteran, Eric Kendricks. Kendricks isn’t fragile by any means, but he’s missed time in three of the last four seasons and has only logged full seasons twice in his nine-year career.

Liufau is advertised as a smart player who plays harder and faster than just about anyone else on the field. These are the qualities that could push him into the starting lineup this season.

Role Call: Josh DeBerry played nearly 50 college games – Nick Eatman, Dallas Cowboys.com

Undrafted free agent corner Josh DeBerry has a tough road to make the roster

How He Got Here: DeBerry is listed as a rookie free agent from Texas A&M, but he only spent one season in College Station, starting seven games for the Aggies in 2023. During his one season in the SEC, DeBerry tied for the team lead with seven pass deflections and two interceptions. But the majority of his collegiate career was at Boston College, where he played four seasons for the Eagles. During that span, DeBerry played in 39 games, registering 158 tackles with 19 pass breakups and four interceptions.

What’s Next: It’s not like any undrafted free agent has an easy road to make the roster, but it seems pretty challenging for DeBerry, who joins a cornerback room that is not only experienced, but pretty youthful as well as both Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland will begin training camp at the age of 25. Sure, there’s veteran Jourdan Lewis returning as the third corner, but the rest of the positions will be fought for by the likes of Nahshon Wright, rookie Caelen Carson, Josh Butler and then DeBerry. But every year, there seems to a handful of UDFAs that become the surprise of camp. This could happen for DeBerry if he proves he can compete with the receivers in 1-on-1 drills, isn’t afraid to mix it up in the run game and of course, finds a way to shine on special teams.