Veteran NFL insider Ed Werder said Monday that one person inside the Dallas Cowboys organization was more relieved than others when wide receiver CeeDee Lamb agreed to terms: Head coach Mike McCarthy.
That’s because McCarthy is entering the final year of his contract.
On Monday’s emergency edition of his Doomsday Podcast, Werder said the situation reminded him of Ezekiel Elliott’s holdout in 2019, when then-head coach Jason Garrett also was entering the final year of his contract. Both coaches were “being forced to coach the final year of their contracts and feeling it would have been unfair to them not to have arguably their best player in Week 1.”
Elliot signed with the Cowboys four days prior to the 2019 opener and finished second in the NFL that year with 1,357 rushing yards. But Dallas finished 8-8, missed the playoffs and brought in McCarthy to replace Garrett following the season.
Lamb is back in the fold 11 days prior to the Cowboys’ opener Sept. 8 at Cleveland, one of the league’s top defenses.
Now that Lamb is back, the Cowboys can turn their attention to clearing another hurdle that would further relieve McCarthy: The contract of quarterback Dak Prescott. Werder wonders whether other factors may now help the two sides come together.
“Does is make a difference that now CeeDee Lamb more than ever is going to want Dak Prescott signed?” Werder asked. “And maybe having CeeDee Lamb tied to the organization for the next four years will make a difference for Dak and the way he perceives his opportunities here. But there’s no miscalculating how much CeeDee Lamb means to this offense.”
In 2023, Lamb became the fourth player all-time to reach 125 catches and 10 touchdown receptions in a season, joining Antonio Brown (2014 and 2015), Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison (2002) and Cooper Kupp (2021).