CeeDee Lamb speaks after joining Cowboys in Dallas - what he said about Jerry Jones’ comments and Dak Prescott’s contract

After a rough offseason going back and forth with the Cowboys trying to get a contract done, it’s a relief to finally have CeeDee Lamb back in Dallas with the team and smiling.

Lamb was steadfast in his holdout and rightly so. As one of the top receivers in the league, Dallas knew they needed to pay him like one, and that price had recently gone up with the likes Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, and A.J. Brown setting the bar. It wasn’t an easy time for Lamb, who said his holdout “wasn’t pleasurable at all”, but it paid off.

Lamb returned to practice with the Cowboys on Tuesday as the second-highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL. The Cowboys signed him to a four-year, $136 million contract with $100 million guaranteed and an average annual salary of $34 million.

Lamb said when his agent called him to give him the news, he told him it was “going south”.

“I was like, ‘what do you mean, it’s going south? Like...it’s time!’ And then he hit me with, ‘yeah, they’re only gonna try to pay you like 34 a year’. I’m like, well...where do I sign?”

Lamb speaks out after signing contract with the Cowboys

Now that the deal is done, everything seems to be going right back to normal between CeeDee and the Cowboys, but during the offseason, there was quite a lot of tension. During his press conference on Tuesday, Lamb mentioned that he was getting very impatient waiting on the deal to get done and that he wanted the holdout to end. So it must have been frustrating when owner Jerry Jones made the comment that there was “no urgency” to get Lamb’s deal done. To that comment, Lamb replied with a sarcastic “lol” on social media. He addressed that situation on Tuesday, as well as a photo he posted of black-suit Spiderman that caused quite the stir.

“Oh my gosh!” Lamb said, laughing and looking around the room when asked about the Spiderman photo. “Listen, that’s my favorite superhero! He’s entering his villain arc. And I’m coming back for vengeance.”

“As far as the comments [from Jerry Jones], he’s entitled to whatever he’s gotta say. As long as we get the deal done, I ain’t got nothin’...” Lamb trailed off and laughed.

The deal did get done, and now Lamb is back with his team and seems not only delighted to be back, but physically prepared as well, despite missing all of training camp. Lamb spent the summer working out in Florida and in Houston, Texas, often posting his workouts on social media. He’s put on nearly 15 pounds of lean muscle since last season.

“I feel like I’m not missing a beat,” said Lamb. “The two hours outside in the Florida weather was not pleasant, but I appreciate him for it because coming back indoors, I can breathe a bit more. I physically prepared for this moment. I’m ready to go to battle.”

“I got a little more body armor on me, so I can take a couple more hits. I’m prepared for my opportunities.”

For his part, Lamb has no doubt that he will be in great shape for the regular season opener in just 11 days.

“Quite honestly, I don’t think it’s gonna be a step behind, at all. I’m ready,” Lamb said. “I’ve played this game my whole life. I gotta get bumped a little bit. Those are things, contact violence, but I trained for those. I feel like I’m more prepared than ever.”

While everyone is all smiles now that Lamb has signed the contract and is back with the team, there still remains the question of quarterback Dak Prescott’s future. Prescott is also in the last year of his contract and cannot be franchise tagged. So if an extension doesn’t happen for him soon, he could be playing with another team next year, something Lamb doesn’t want to see. But he believes the deal will get done.

“Go look at our numbers together. They’re at the top of the charts,” said Lamb. “I have no doubt they’re gonna get a deal done. We all know that I want him here. Jerry wants Dak here, too. So let’s get this under control and kill the speculation.”

The Cowboys will play their first regular season game on Sunday, September 8 against the Cleveland Browns on the road. It will be a tough game, but having their All-Pro receiver back in the game and “ready for battle” certainly helps with the confidence.