The Cowboys and CeeDee Lamb remain in a stalemate in contract talks.
Jane Slater of NFL Media reports that the sides have had no conversations and have exchanged no new proposals in the past 24 hours.
The team reportedly has offered the star receiver a deal that averages just under $33 million annually. Time is ticking, with the season opener now 19 days away, and owner Jerry Jones should feel urgency even if he doesn’t.
Jones was asked Tuesday whether he is concerned about getting Lamb signed.
“I don’t mean that to be insensitive to our fans or to CeeDee, but we’re in good shape there and we are having promising talks,” Jones said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “You say, ‘Well, why do you keep talking? Why don’t you do something?’ Again, as in anything, it takes both of you there at the same time. But I believe it’s got the proper amount of everything — emphasis, importance — for everybody involved here, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Instead, Jones said he thinks he’s optimistic about getting a deal done.
“And when I say that, it doesn’t sound too promising,” Jones said. “The facts are that I believe we’ll come together. I don’t want to speak for him. That’s what I’m trying not to do. But we wouldn’t have offered him what we’ve offered him if we didn’t want him to be here.”
The Cowboys didn’t sign holdout running back Ezekiel Elliott to a contract extension in 2019 until Sept. 3, the week of the season opener.
They have not seen Lamb since last season ended, as he skipped the offseason program, including the mandatory minicamp, and has not reported to training camp. The Cowboys wrap up the California portion of camp on Thursday.
Lamb played last season for a base salary of $2.52 million and is scheduled to play this year on the $17.991 million fifth-year option. He had a career year last year with a league-leading 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns in earning All-Pro honors for the first time.
