The Dallas Cowboys have yet to finalize an extension for CeeDee Lamb, fueling speculation that the disgruntled star receiver could be on the move via trade.
A hypothetical trade drawing an interesting reaction on social media came from FanDuel. The move would send Lamb to the Kansas City Chiefs, with the Cowboys receiving a pair of first-round picks and receiver Rashee Rice in return.
Fans from both sides sounded off in the comment section, responding to the prompt, “Who says no?”
“Chiefs say no. [Lamb] is an amazing player but they just won two Super Bowls without a WR like him. Why would they spend that draft capital and the money,” one commenter wrote.
The Chiefs have won a pair of Super Bowls without Tyreek Hill — now with the Dolphins — and no receiver on the roster is taking up a big part of the cap. Marquise Brown is currently the Chiefs’ highest-paid receiver, counting just $6.9 million against the cap.
Lamb would require top-of-the-market money on an extension, likely close to the $35 million annually that Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson is making.
Others took issue with the Cowboys’ compensation. Receiving a pair of first-round picks sounds great. However, the Chiefs have not picked higher than No. 21 overall since selecting Patrick Mahomes in 2017, thanks to some deep playoff runs.
“Would be terrible for Dallas,” another fan said. “First round picks from the Chiefs are really like second round picks… the trade is not worth it.”
Cowboys Don’t Have ‘Urgency’ to Extend CeeDee Lamb
Lamb has been holding out of training camp. There have been negotiations between Dallas and Lamb, but the latest statement from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did not inspire confidence it will be resolved any time soon.
“I don’t have any urgency to get it done,” Jones said on Thursday, August 8, per Jon Machota of The Athletic.
Lamb responded to Jones’ comments on social media, simply writing, “lol.”
Lamb finished last season with a league-high 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was a first-round pick in 2020 and is heading into the final year of his rookie contract.
Lamb is due to make $17.9 million on his fifth-year option — the final year of his rookie deal. He said this offseason that he wants to be among the top-paid receivers in the league on his next contract.
“I can’t give you no numbers right now, but I’ll tell you this, [I want to be] one of the top-paid receivers for sure, if not the [highest-paid receiver],” Lamb said in January while appearing on Micah Parsons’ The Edge podcast. “That’s always the goal.”
Cowboys Shut Down CeeDee Lamb Trade Speculation
The Cowboys have called their current situation “challenging.” Lamb needs to get paid, and the team would also like to negotiate long-term extensions with quarterback Dak Prescott and Parsons.
“We’ve got a challenging situation. It’s a good situation to have, but it’s challenging when you have one of the top quarterbacks in the league and two of the best non-quarterback players in the league in Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb,” Cowboys Chief Operating Officer Stephen Jones said on “The Doomsday Pod” on Thursday, August 8. “It’s a negotiation that we’re having to work hard at. At the end of the day, you want to put some other players [on the field]. Those three guys can’t go out and play the game by themselves. We’ll continue to work at it.”
Jones shut down the idea of Lamb being moved amid their contract standoff.
“CeeDee can’t go play anywhere. He’s under contract, and we have franchise tags available,” Jones said. “CeeDee isn’t going to be playing anywhere but Dallas. We want this to be a good situation for him when we’re all said and done. But also a good situation so that we can put a good football team on the field.”
The Cowboys open the regular season on September 8 against the Cleveland Browns.
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Cowboys Proposed Trade Sends CeeDee Lamb to Chiefs for Massive Haul