NFL insider: Dallas Cowboys believe they're 'in the ballpark' on CeeDee Lamb extension

Saturday night, the Dallas Cowboys will play their final preseason game. It’s the final step with two weeks before the season opener, and all eyes remain on CeeDee Lamb.

Lamb has been holding out as he looks for a new contract with one year to go on his rookie deal. Negotiations have taken a few turns through training camp, but the former Oklahoma star still has not practiced as the preseason starts to wind down.

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The Cowboys are optimistic about their chances of getting a deal done, though, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. He said while Lamb is looking for a contract in the Justin Jefferson range, Dallas feels confident something will come together in time for the season opener on Sept. 8.

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“People with the Cowboys organization tell me that they believe they’re in the ballpark, that they are optimistic and confident they will get this done by Week 1,” Fowler told Elle Duncan on SportsCenter Friday evening. “But they are bleeding this out, Elle, because they feel like they’re in that range of well above $30 million per year – that’s what it’s gonna take.

“Lamb feels like, my numbers speak for themselves and the market speaks for itself. So it’s gonna have to be pretty darn close to that Justin Jefferson number of $35 million per year. But how they get there, the structure of it, the guaranteed money – they have not settled on that. But the stage is set for them to get Lamb done before Dak Prescott. They’re trying to do both.”

Jerry Jones: Cowboys ‘in good shape’ with CeeDee Lamb talks

Lamb is entering the final year of his rookie contract, which he signed after the Cowboys took him No. 17 overall in 2020 out of Oklahoma. He’s coming off the biggest year of his career in which he totaled 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns – setting new career-highs in all three categories.

Earlier this month, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill reported the Cowboys’ best offer was just south of $33 million per year, which would be $2 million less than Justin Jefferson is making as the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. However, earlier this week, Jerry Jones said the Cowboys are “in good shape” as the preseason finale approaches.

“I don’t mean that to be insensitive to our fans or to CeeDee, but we’re in good shape there and we are having promising talks,” Jones said, via ESPN’s Todd Archer. “You say, ‘Well, why do you keep talking? Why don’t you do something?’ Again, as in anything, it takes both of you there at the same time.

“But I believe it’s got the proper amount of everything – emphasis, importance – for everybody involved here and we’ll see how it goes.”