Unlike Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb contract drama could reach its end sooner rather than later

It has been an incredibly disappointing offseason for the Dallas Cowboys. They were embarrassed on their home field by a No. 7 seed in the Wild Card Round, and responded by doing... nothing? Well, they didn't do nothing, but it feels as if the team made no meaningful additions.

They signed veterans like Eric Kendricks and Ezekiel Elliott, but at best, this team feels like it's relatively the same.

What makes their lack of meaningful offseason activity worse is that none of Dallas' stars have received contract extensions. Micah Parsons and Dak Prescott are both in camp, but have made it very clear that they're looking for extensions. CeeDee Lamb, another extension candidate, is holding out.

Parsons' contract isn't as much of a priority because he's under control through the 2025 season. As for who the Cowboys do end up extending between Prescott and Lamb, Albert Breer of SI explained why Lamb might be first over Dak.

CeeDee Lamb might end up getting his extension before Dak Prescott

"I feel like there’s a really good likelihood that Lamb is signed before the Cowboys break camp and go back to Texas. He’s in a contract year. He’s holding out. Dallas typically takes care of its guys. They’ll figure it out," Breer said.

The argument for extending Lamb before Prescott is relatively simple. He's holding out, Prescott is not. If the Cowboys want Lamb to show up, they're going to have to pay him. If they're planning on keeping him past the 2024 season, and there's no reason to believe they'd ever consider letting him go considering how great of a player he is, they're going to sign him.

With that being said, though, signing a receiver and not a quarterback is not how most teams choose to conduct business. Ninety-nine percent of the time, receivers are not paid before quarterbacks because the receivers are only really valuable if they have a quarterback capable of getting them the football. Lamb being the superstar he is, is an exception.

In addition, paying Lamb isn't something that can really change the outlook of the franchise. Paying Prescott, a quarterback who is trying to reset the market, is a much bigger deal with how expensive quarterbacks are.

"The Prescott situation is different. It feels like progress has been stagnant, and the team is resistant to reset the market. So where things go from here is unpredictable."

All it takes is for one side to blink, and then a deal can get done. Since Prescott is not holding out, he's not giving the Cowboys much of a reason to blink. If he has another MVP-caliber season, perhaps the Cowboys would be willing to meet his demands. If he doesn't, Prescott might have to settle for less or sign elsewhere. Lamb holding out means Dallas has to pay him in order for him to show up. If Lamb doesn't show up, the team doesn't stand much of a chance in 2024.

All of these factors make it more likely that the Cowboys pay Lamb sometime sooner rather than later. While that's a good start, Cowboys fans can only hope deals with Prescott and Parsons are on the horizon as well.