WR CeeDee Lamb is not reporting to Dallas Cowboys training camp. Let the holdout begin

CeeDee Lamb was not on the Dallas Cowboys team plane when it left Dallas on Tuesday morning. And he didn’t arrive to the Residence Inn in Oxnard,, site of training camp, on Tuesday afternoon.

Those weren’t necessarily all of the clues that the All-Pro wide receiver was in full holdout mode.

Quarterback Dak Prescott and a number of other players arrived at camp on their own and didn’t take the team charter.

But Lamb has been consistent in actions throughout the offseason, suggesting that he was not going to participate in training camp without a new deal.

He didn’t participate in the offseason program, OTAs or minicamp.

And per a source close to the situation, Lamb will not report to training camp when players are required to attend a team meeting Wednesday morning.

That will also start the clock on mandatory fines of $50,000 per day for missing camp, according to the NFL collective bargaining agreement.

Lamb, 25, is due to earn $17.99 million in 2024 under his fifth-year option, which is far below the value for the receiver coming off a career-best season 2023.

A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Lamb broke Hall of Fame member Michael Irvin’s single-season franchise marks with an NFL-high 135 catches and 1,749 yards, adding a career-high 12 touchdown catches in 17 starts.

He is looking for a deal in the neighborhood of the one signed by Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson, who reset the wide-receiver market with a four-year, $140 million extension in June.

The market for Lamb is between $32 and $35 million annually.

Lamb has racked up 395 catches for 5,145 yards and 32 touchdowns in 66 games (61 starts) since being selected by the Cowboys with the 17th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Jefferson also entered the NFL in 2020 and has 392 catches for 5,899 yards and 32 touchdowns during that same time span.

Complicating the decision for the Cowboys is they are looking to sign quarterback Dak Prescott to a record-setting contract extension that could be between $55-$60 million annually.

Getting both deals done and being able to save money to sign All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons to arguably the richest contract for a defender in NFL history next season is a conundrum that has weighed on the front office all offseason.

But as of now, Lamb is the priority. Prescott is in camp as in Parsons.

Lamb is not.

The Cowboys offense is not the same without Lamb, who is the only proven weapon on the team that strikes fear in the opposing defense.

The Cowboys are not new to training camp holdouts.

Guard Zack Martin held out for three weeks in 2023 before the team acquiesced to his contract demands.

Running back Ezekiel Elliott held out for 40 days in 2019 before signing right before the start of the season.

How long will it take for Lamb and the Cowboys to come to get a deal done?