What is a “pitch count” in NFL? Will CeeDee Lamb play Week 1?

The Dallas Cowboys are reunited with star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. After a tense, summer-long holdout, the All-Pro got his wishes, signing a four-year, $136 million contract extension with $100 million in guaranteed money and a $38 million signing bonus (the biggest for a WR in NFL history).

What is CeeDee Lamb’s Week 1 status?

There is no “getting back in shape” after missing training camp for Lamb. He was never out of shape. In fact, he spent the whole offseason training hard and gaining muscle weight.

CeeDee Lamb gets “jacked” and McCarthy and Prescott notice

Still, on the Cowboys’ injury list, Lamb is still listed as “Out”. As we know, he’s not injured and is in fact in great physical shape. As CeeDee signed with the Cowboys just before the roster cuts were made, the team was given a two-game roster exemption for Lamb, who is now on the commissioner’s exempt list and does not count against their 53-man roster limit. He can be activated at any time.

Usually, a player on the commissioner’s exempt list is not allowed to practice with the team, but Lamb is an exception to that as well and has been practicing with the Cowboys this week. Head coach Mike McCarthy says Lamb is on a “pitch count”, also known as a snap count. This just means that Dak Prescott has a set amount of passes he can make to Lamb during practice.

There is no reason to believe that Lamb will miss any playing time for the Cowboys at this moment in time. Lamb is fully healthy and is expected to play in Week 1. As he can be activated at any time between now and the start of the season, he could remain “Out” until as late as Saturday afternoon, but it does not mean he will not play and should not cause panic for Cowboys fans (or fantasy owners).

“Where he needs to be? I’m impressed with where he is,” said McCarthy. “You can tell where his commitment was this offseason. He’s bigger, stronger. We have a number we want him to hit each day. I’m confident he’ll be where we need to be by the end of this week.”

The Cowboys kick off their regular season campaign on Sunday, September 8 when they travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns at Huntington Bank Field. You can catch all the action with our live text coverage of the game (brought to you by yours truly) right here on AS USA.