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Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur may want to “vomit” every time he gets a question about a No. 1 wide receiver, but the oddsmakers still like his team’s chances of pulling off a blockbuster trade for one of the NFL’s best.
According to the latest next-team odds from sportsbetting.ag, the Packers are among the teams favored to land Cowboys superstar CeeDee Lamb for the 2024 season should Dallas move to trade him instead of signing him to the contract extension he is seeking.
The Kansas City Chiefs (+500) are getting the best odds as of August 13 ahead of the Detroit Lions (+600) and Pittsburgh Steelers (+600). Surprisingly, though, the Packers (+700) are close in the hunt and receiving the same odds as the New England Patriots (+700) — a team who recently tried to trade for San Francisco receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
The Packers acquiring Lamb would immediately put to bed any further questions about whether the team has a true No. 1 receiver. The 25-year-old hauled in an NFL-leading 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Cowboys in 2023, finishing as a first-team All-Pro and making his third consecutive Pro Bowl in four career seasons.
Of course, there are a few problems with the possibility of a trade for Lamb, starting with the fact that Lamb has not formally requested a trade from the Cowboys despite him continuing to hold out from camp. Things can change quickly if the two sides fail to work out a new deal, but a potential Lamb departure does not seem imminent.
The roster-building approach of Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst also raises serious questions about whether the team would even consider paying such a high cost for Lamb — though, there have been instances where he has broken custom.
CeeDee Lamb’s Trade Availability May Tempt Packers
A running joke among the Packers faithful is the team is always in the conversation when it comes to high-profile wide receiver trades but never seems to land any of them. Gutekunst also tends to do more selling than buying when it comes to trades involving veteran players. Since March 2022, he has traded away Davante Adams, Aaron Rodgers and Rasul Douglas while making zero meaningful trades to acquire veteran players.
That’s not to say Gutekunst is afraid to trade for players that he wants; rather, he just prefers to use his resources on prospects in the NFL draft instead of on established vets.
Gutekunst has made hefty trade offers for veterans in the past, though. According to FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer, the Packers offered a first-round pick to Carolina for star wide receiver DJ Moore at the 2022 trade deadline, but the Panthers declined.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter also reported around the same time that the Packers made offers for both tight end Darren Waller and wide receiver Chase Claypool — offering a second-round pick and a late-rounder in a package for the latter before losing out to Chicago.
Don’t forget the Jonathan Taylor saga of 2023 training camp, either. ESPN’s Stephen Holder confirmed the Packers had trade talks with the Indianapolis Colts about their All-Pro running back last August and had “legitimate interest” in getting a deal done. Some scoffed at the idea of the Packers adding Taylor and paying him such big money, but they signed Josh Jacobs to a $48 million contract less than seven months later.
Perhaps Gutekunst does not feel as strongly about Lamb as his other previous trade targets, but it is worth recognizing that he will pull out a strong offer when motivated.
Major Play at WR Might Not Be Necessary for Packers
Unfortunately, believing that Gutekunst is gutsy enough to pull off a blockbuster trade does not mean it will happen with Lamb. There are still plenty of logical roadblocks that could keep the team from trading for him, should the Cowboys make him available.
The draft capital alone could be a dealbreaker for the Packers. There is no telling exactly what type of compensation the Cowboys would want in return for Lamb, but Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay projects a deal could involve the Packers giving up both their first- and second-round picks in 2025 along with third-year receiver Christian Watson.
The projected cost of Lamb’s new contract is also problematic. The Packers have about $22.4 million in effective cap space for the 2024 season, which means they could fit a lucrative extension for Lamb on their books with the right structure. Spotrac projects that Lamb’s next deal will be worth roughly $136 million over four seasons, though — a contract that would consume large portions of the Packers’ cap space for years to come.
Fortunately for the Packers, they might not need to make a big-time trade for a receiver. The reason why LaFleur dislikes questions about No. 1 receivers is he believes his roster has four guys capable of contributing like No. 1 guys between Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks. All four have made head-turning plays at various points throughout camp and figure to contribute meaningfully to the 2024 offense.
The Packers also have all four of them signed to rookie contracts for at least another two seasons, creating plenty of spending flexibility for them at other positions.
The Packers have struck gold at wide receiver before and could very well do it again with their 2024 receiving corps. And if that’s the case, Lamb simply isn’t necessary.
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