Cowboys Pick Up CeeDee Lamb 5th Year Option

Cowboys Like Lamb

The Dallas Cowboys completed the simple task of selecting CeeDee Lamb’s fifth-year option for 2024, but they would prefer to eventually sign the wide receiver to a long-term contract this season.

About two weeks before a decision had to be made, the Cowboys officially announced the option on Thursday, locking Lamb, their first-round choice in 2020, into a salary of $17.99 million in 2024.

According to the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement, Lamb’s option compensation was greater since he was chosen for the Pro Bowl.

After Amari Cooper was traded to the Cleveland Browns, Lamb spent his first year as the Cowboys’ top receiver, setting career highs in catches (107), yards (1,359), and touchdowns (9) during the previous year. His 260 catches in his first three seasons of play are a franchise record; Dez Bryant’s 200 are second. His 10 career 100-yard receiving performances are the second-most in franchise history, after Hall of Famer Bob Hayes’ 13 in the first three years of a career.

The Cowboys ultimately want the option to be a stopgap measure before a long-term agreement. Executive vice president Stephen Jones has stated the club’s desire to extend multi-year contracts to both Lamb and cornerback Trevon Diggs, who they selected in the second round of the 2020 draft.

Diggs is about to start the last year of his deal. The Cowboys could theoretically use the franchise tag on Diggs the following offseason now that Lamb’s option has been exercised.