The Dallas Cowboys are exploring extensions for a pair of stars on both sides of the ball in CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs.
Both Lamb and Diggs are extension eligible this offseason and have proved on the field that they deserve long-term deals. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said that both are in the team’s “long-term plans.”
“You always look at something like that,” Jones said on Tuesday. “Looking for the right opportunities, the right situation, obviously they’re in our plans long term. Always look.”
Lamb took over the No. 1 wide receiver role and set career-highs in catches (107), yards (1,359) and touchdowns (nine).
Diggs has been named to the Pro Bowl the past two seasons and is coming off a year where he had three interceptions and 14 pass breakups. In 2021, Diggs led the NFL in interceptions with 11 interceptions.
While the Cowboys value both players, Jones hinted that patience will be key in getting a deal done.
“Used to be people would be ready to go ahead and do something,” Jones said related to making a deal. “It seems like representatives, players are more patient to wait their turn. They feel like they probably got a little more leverage, those type of things.”
Cowboys Also Open to Extending Dak Prescott
The Cowboys have some other maneuvering to do with contracts, particularly with quarterback Dak Prescott. He’s set to count $49 million against the cap this coming season and a whopping $52.1 million in 2024 unless a restructure or extension is done.
Jones sounded optimistic that the Cowboys will extend Prescott, lowering his cap hit but also tying him to the team for more seasons.
“We’ve got to have a plan to ultimately extend Dak,” Jones said, via ESPN. “I’ve got all the faith in the world we can win this thing with Dak. Because we know him. We know what he’s about. His leadership skills are undeniable. Impeccable work ethic. Other than he hadn’t won some key playoff games, he’s everything you want in a quarterback. From the day he walked in the door, he’s won a lot of games. We just got to get over the hump.”
While it’s in the plans, Jones said no contract extension talks have taken place with Prescott’s team as of yet.
“No we haven’t. I don’t know. I bet there’s not going to be a lot said about it,” Jones said. “We’ll wake up one day and it’ll be done. We’ve got a plan. Doesn’t always help you to divulge your plan.”
Cowboys Want More Weapons Available for Prescott
It’s a vague statement from Jones on Prescott but freeing up some cap space seems like a necessity to be able to bring in some more weapons for their offense to work with next season.
Lamb was vocal this offseason that they need to surround Prescott — who tied for the league-high in interceptions — with more weapons. Jones echoed that sentiment.
“Offensively, we’ve just got to have, maybe add a playmaker to it,” Jones told ESPN. “Add a little juice. Add a playmaker to it and see if we can do that.”
A partner for Lamb in the wide receiver corps could be Odell Beckham Jr., who has been frequently mentioned as a target for the Cowboys. Beckham missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in the Super Bowl while with the Los Angeles Rams.
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Cowboys Exploring Long-Term Extensions for Pair of Playmakers