The Dallas Cowboys are entering a season that could change the course of their franchise in both the short and long term. Head coach Mike McCarthy is a lame duck coach, in the final year of his contract and the team refusing to give him an extension. His 1-3 record in the NFL Playoffs since taking the Cowboys head coaching job is not nearly good enough. After their first round loss to the Green Bay Packers this previous postseason, McCarthy will need a deep playoff run if he is to keep his job.
Additionally, Dallas has to figure out contract extensions for three of their star players: quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, and pass rusher Micah Parsons. Right now, it appears that they are prioritizing Prescott’s extension over the other two, but it is Lamb who is holding out until he gets a new deal.
With training camp about a month away, the Cowboys have some time to figure out their business. However, with the price of top wide receiver talent rising this offseason, there are some who doubt the two sides will be able to come to an agreement.
This could result in a trade.
Why Won’t the Dallas Cowboys Just Pay CeeDee Lamb What He Wants?
As mentioned, Dallas has numerous stars that they need to figure out how to pay. Prescott, as a high-profile Pro Bowl quarterback who is consistently an NFL MVP candidate, is going to be the most expensive of the bunch. Recently, the Jacksonville Jaguars gave their quarterback, Trevor Lawrence (who has not come anywhere close to matching Prescott’s accomplishments) a contract that will pay him $55 million per year for the next five seasons.
In other words, the price for quarterbacks is going up, and it’s going up quickly. If Lawrence can get $55 million annually, surely Prescott deserve a lot more. There are some who believe he could become the first player in NFL history to make $60 million a year.
Paying any player that much money means that there is less money for other players. This is a problem in Dallas because they have numerous homegrown players that need to be paid.
Lamb is looking for a deal that would pay him $30 million a year or more. After all, the Detroit Lions gave Amon-Ra St. Brown that much, and the Minnesota Vikings gave Justin Jefferson $35 million a year.
Those two teams, though, do not have the salary concerns that Dallas does. Paying Prescott and Lamb a combined $90 million a year would eat up at last one-third of the salary cap. Add in the $25-30 million Parsons could make, and that leaves little for everyone else.
NFL Analyst Suggests the Dallas Cowboys Trade CeeDee Lamb to the Kansas City Chiefs
In a recent article on NFL Spin Zone, NFL analyst Sayre Bedinger suggests that the Cowboys could trade Lamb to the Kansas City Chiefs and get some young (and less expensive) pass catchers in return:
“Imagine CeeDee Lamb playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and emerging as their long-term top target for quarterback Patrick Mahomes. This would take so much pressure off of Travis Kelce and would give the Chiefs the go-to threat at receiver they’ve been lacking for the last two years, and they’ve been winning big in spite of that roster weakness.
“Getting Lamb on the Chiefs’ roster would be unfair. The Cowboys would have to require something big in a trade from them like multiple first-round picks and a player even for the NFL to sign off on allowing something like this. But no matter what the Chiefs would give up, it probably wouldn’t be enough to make things “fair” for the 31 other NFL teams.”
The Chiefs certainly do not need a go-to wide receiver in order to win the Super Bowl. After all, they were able to win it all without one in each of the past two seasons. However, with Rashee Rice facing a long suspension, adding Lamb would do more than make up for his absence.
In return, the Cowboys could get any of Kansas City’s young wideouts and a plethora of draft picks.
While this scenario seems very unlikely, it is nonetheless intriguing. Something is going to have to give between Lamb and the Cowboys sooner or later, and there could be any number of teams that end up with his services in the event he gets traded.
