Stephen Jones addresses latest on extending CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, Terence Steele
The fates of three Dallas Cowboys are still hanging in the balance following the conclusion of OTAs. Executive vice president Stephen Jones addressed potential extensions for CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele on Monday, but indicated that the timing isn’t right at the moment.
“The timing has got to be right for those guys and it’s gotta be right for us,” Jones said, via Jon Machota. “Our goal would be to hopefully start to chip away at this. Our focus is also on winning in 2023. No specific order. It’s just kind of when opportunity arises. They gotta be motivated to want to do it.
“It seems like more and more guys want to wait, and I understand why, because usually the price goes up from one year to the next. People don’t seem to be as in that type of hurry, but if the opportunity is there we sure would like to get 1-2-3 of these guys signed. We’d love to do more than one.”
Although the Cowboys’ front office has “touched base” with the agents of the three young stars, it doesn’t sound like deals are imminent.
Cowboys in no rush on extensions
Team owner Jerry Jones struck a similar tone in regard to a new deal for quarterback Dak Prescott. He told reporters on Monday that it’s “not imperative” to make a move with haste. Prescott still has two more seasons on his current contract.
Since coming into the NFL in 2020, Diggs has evolved into one of the top defensive backs in the entire league. He’s accumulated 17 interceptions and 49 pass deflections. Unlike Lamb, Diggs doesn’t have a fifth-year option on his rookie contract. If the Cowboys don’t extend his deal, he becomes a free agent in March.
As for Steele, Dallas tendered the tackle for $4.3 million for the 2023 season. He would also hit the free agent market next March.
Lamb is locked up through 2024 with his fifth-year option that cost the Cowboys for $17.99 million. His deal presents the least amount of urgency for Jerry Jones and his front office.
This offseason, the Cowboys moved quickly to sign their top pending free agents to deals. They signed safety Donovan Wilson, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, DE Dante Fowler, tackle Johnathan Hankins and franchise-tagged Tony Pollard to keep them off the free agency market. Less than a handful of notable names exited, including Dalton Schultz and Connor McGovern.