CeeDee Lamb just had the fifth-year option on his rookie contract picked up, and he's already thinking about an even longer-term future in Dallas.
Lamb, who is now under contract with the Cowboys through 2024, was asked about the option and the possibility of an eventual contract extension while speaking to media at the club's 10th annual Reliant Home Run Derby.
"I'm very excited," Lamb said Wednesday night, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. "Dallas is somewhere I've always wanted to be. I don't see myself really wearing any other jersey. I don't really want to get into too much detail on that, but I'm definitely excited for the future."
Lamb flashed tantalizing skills playing second fiddle to Amari Cooper during his 2020 rookie season before overtaking him in receiving yards and receptions in 2021 and assuming the unquestioned WR1 role last year when Dallas traded the 28-year-old Cooper to Cleveland.
Dallas' new go-to guy responded with 107 receptions -- his first 100-plus catch season -- and career highs in both yards (1,359) and touchdowns (nine). It made the Cowboys' decision to pick up his fifth-year option for a projected $17.99 million a no-brainer. And at just 24 years of age entering his fourth season, it also makes him a worthy candidate of chasing top WR money when extension talks take place.
For now, Lamb is still under team control for two more years and chose not to speak too much on the hypotheticals.
Two more of his teammates also fielded contract questions at the Derby, which was won by repeat champion Leighton Vander Esch.
Trevon Diggs, who has two Pro Bowl nods to match Lamb's but also put together an All-Pro campaign since joining Dallas in the same draft class, is entering a contract year with 17 career interceptions, 49 passes defensed and two TDs.
"Hopefully something gets figured out," Diggs said about his own contract situation. "I love Dallas. I love being here. So, we'll see."
Then there's quarterback Dak Prescott, already well-versed in contract speculation after coming to a $160 million extension back in 2021. That contract ends in 2024 with two tacked-on void years. Another deal would be needed to alleviate the unsightly $59.5 million cap hit currently on the books for the 2024 season.
"Y'all know me, and y'all know every offseason is for me to go in there and get better as best as I can," Prescott told reporters. "That's stuff that I leave to the Cowboys and I leave to my agent. They got it done years ago. And when it's time to get it done again, I trust in both of them."
It's likely negotiations for all three will be somewhat interconnected as the Cowboys manage the cap against their growing salaries.
Just how well Jerry Jones and Co. manage that juggling act in the near future will play a pivotal role in Dallas continuing to knock on the door of a Super Bowl breakthrough.
