CeeDee Lamb Rumors: 'Cowboys Remain Optimistic' on New Contract 'Behind the Scenes'

The Dallas Cowboys "remain optimistic" about striking an accord with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb despite having plenty of details to work out, according to ESPN's Jeff Darlington.

Darlington explained Monday on Get Up that "it really doesn't feel like they've gotten to a point where they know the annual salary, where they know the contract length, where they know the real structure of the contract where it becomes guaranteed money."

"So, yes it could all come together very quickly, but we don't really have any of those things feeling like there is any reason to think it is imminent," he said. "So, the best I can tell you is that behind the scenes, the Cowboys remain optimistic but until they get much closer to that number, that contract that Justin Jefferson has at $35 million a year, and maybe it doesn't have to be all the way there, we're not there yet."

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones caused a bit of a stir when he told reporters on Aug. 8 he lacked "any urgency to get it done" when it came to a new contract for Lamb. The three-time Pro Bowler had a succinct reaction to that.

Jones walked the remarks back a bit days later and said he was referring more to Lamb's absence at training camp amid the player's ongoing holdout. The 81-year-old followed up Saturday on 105.3 The Fan (via The Athletic's Jon Machota) and maintained the same tone.

"We're having the same kind of talks we've been having," he said. "... (I'm) not worried about a target date (for the contract), not worried about his shape. Glad he's not out here risking some injury tonight."

Still, you have to balance that with the reported lack of progress at the negotiating table. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported Saturday that Dallas was prepared to offer Lamb "around $33 (million)" a year, which he deemed to be "still not good enough."

Lamb is under contract for the 2024 season and it's hard to see him carrying his holdout into Week 1 given all of the headaches that would bring. From that point of view, the Cowboys' outward stance on the situation is understandable.

But the longer this drags on, the more Dallas risks alienating a key player. All of its posturing could be for naught as well because it ultimately didn't save any money when it tried playing hardball with Dak Prescott before he signed his $160 million extension in 2021.