As the Dallas Cowboys prepare to head back to Dallas for their third and final preseason game, star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is still on the outside looking in as he awaits a new deal.
With Week 1 fast approaching and Lamb being AWOL all offseason, fantasy football managers have every right to worry about Lamb heading into their drafts. We analyze the situation and discuss what we know about Lamb and the messy contract dispute.
What’s the Latest With CeeDee Lamb’s Holdout?
Lamb is typically a quiet and reserved guy. That’s why his social media activity on Monday night caused a stir and caught many by surprise.
Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb with an interesting update to his Instagram story. pic.twitter.com/CE1igq4Fza
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa)
Lamb took to Instagram and posted a story alluding to a villain, Venom, from the Spider-Man series, raising some eyebrows.
While it may not be much on the surface, the mystery surrounding the meaning and intent of the post can be used as a simile to compare to his ongoing contract dispute.
It is perplexing, to say the least, why Lamb and the Cowboys have struggled to come to terms on a deal to this point.
For over a year now, the Cowboys’ decision-makers have known that a Lamb deal needed to get done, and they’ve alluded to this on several occasions when discussing their cap situation.
Yet, Dallas hasn’t operated with any sense of urgency in negotiations setting the stage for a holdout that appears to be getting tense now. Whether the apprehension is from Lamb’s side or Dallas’, both parties have been preparing for this for well over a year, confusing those around the NFL about what the hold-up is.
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Dallas typically likes longer deals to lock its stars in for five or six seasons at a time. Players typically like shorter deals in the three- to four-year range, ensuring they can get another crack at a big contract down the line. While it is pure speculation, one may suggest that may be the biggest hang-up right now.
Either way, the fact that it has gotten to this point is unsettling, and with only speculation as to why, it has left those around the NFL scratching their heads.
Lamb’s Fantasy Outlook
As far as fantasy football goes, taking a player who could go in the top five — potentially top three — in your upcoming draft, this situation can’t sit right with you.
Will Lamb be ready for Week 1, and will he be in sync with Dak Prescott from the get-go? These are valid questions with no easy answer available.
However, according to Pro Football Network Fantasy Football Analyst Kyle Soppe, managers shouldn’t fret about Lamb and a potential production fall-off.
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“Lamb is coming off of the best season in franchise history, and outside of this contract cloud, there’s no reason to think fantasy managers won’t get more of the same in 2024,” Soppe said. “Last year, the Cowboys were the top-scoring team in the league, with Lamb being as featured as anyone.
“Gone is some of the backfield upside, and the WR2 is still Brandin Cooks – a veteran receiver coming off of the least efficient season of his career. The weekly floor of Lamb elevates him above Tyreek Hill and sits him atop my WR rankings in any format.
“In order for me to pivot off of a safe player like this, I’d need the reporting to skew in the pessimistic direction, something we’ve yet to get. At the moment, it is impossible to ‘reach’ for Dallas’ star.”
While some may begin to worry about Lamb and the potential impact his holdout could have early in the season, Soppe thinks fantasy managers should have no fear when looking to select Lamb this year.