Jerry Jones may have walked forward into SoFi Stadium for the Dallas Cowboys‘ preseason opener Sunday, but he spent the pregame backpedaling from a previous statement he made.
That new statement he made before the Los Angeles Rams game involved All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who remains without a new deal and is still nowhere near the team.
What Is Jerry Jones Saying Now About CeeDee Lamb Situation?
Back on Thursday in Oxnard, Calif., the Cowboys owner caused quite the uproar among his fanbase by telling reporters “I don’t have a sense of urgency about getting it done” regarding Lamb’s pending deal.
But, in an interview with the Cowboys’ “Countdown to Kickoff” pregame show, Jones admitted he chose the wrong words in answering questions about the Pro Bowl wide receiver’s future.
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“I think I got in trouble the other day when I said, ‘Look, we’re not urgent about CeeDee,’” Jones explained. “Well, no one appreciates CeeDee being on the field any more than I do.”
Jones continued to clarify his remarks with the pregame crew.
“But, let me say this, he wouldn’t be taking a snap out here today if he’d been here … You’ve got to use your head when you expose key players. … We know exactly what CeeDee can do, and he worked out with Dak. And so we wouldn’t have him out here. It has really not anything to do with his contract,” Jones said.
Ahead of Cowboys-Rams preseason game, Jerry Jones says he “got in trouble the other day” for saying signing CeeDee Lamb isn’t urgent.
“I understand completely the angst that’s happening (about) whether you’re missed or not. Well, CeeDee: You’re missed.”
Jerry clarifies👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/84Ly8tL7o9
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) August 11, 2024
Jones, though, brought back the word “urgency” in describing the situation — which still has left fans confused.
“And so the bottom line is, what it is is, no, there’s not that urgency,” Jones said. “Now, I understand completely the angst that’s happening when you’re anxious about and someone says anything about whether you’re missed or not. Well, CeeDee, you’re missed, OK? But you’re not missed out here competing, and it doesn’t put any pressure, anyplace on us. It’s not pressure out here today and in practice.”
Jones’ words, despite his attempt at clarifying, still came off as a repeat of his Thursday statement. NBC Sports NFL insider for Pro Football Talk Mike Florio did not buy into Jones’ words.
“So CeeDee is missed, but he isn’t? Got it,” Florio wrote. “Jerry’s point hasn’t changed, and he basically repeated himself from the other day but with different words. He feels no urgency to get CeeDee in the fold because he doesn’t feel as if CeeDee currently needs to be in the fold. In other words, no urgency.”
Who Has Dallas Turned to at WR Without Lamb?
By not having Lamb around, when looking closely at their depth chart, the Cowboys have turned to a mix of veteran but less heralded names compared to the NFL‘s 2023 leader in receptions.
Brandin Cooks, now entering his 11th NFL season and second with the Cowboys, has taken the mantle of WR1 for Dak Prescott during training camp. Cooks is coming off a 54-catch, 657-yard, eight-touchdown season last year — with the latter stat marking his highest total since 2016.
The rest of the Cowboys’ receiving room, though, is a mixed bag of question marks and inexperience in a live regular season game.
Outside of Lamb and Cooks, only Jalen Tolbert started in more than five games last season. However, Tolbert settled for only 22 catches for 268 yards and two scores in ’23.
Meanwhile, Jalen Brooks caught six passes for 64 yards — but he never started during the Cowboys’ playoff run. Dallas has additionally needed to turn to two special teams return men to throw to during practices: KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Moreno-Cropper. Of the two, Turpin caught some regular season passes with 12 receptions for 127 yards, and he produced that output after coming on board via the USFL.
SEE MORE: Dallas Cowboys Depth Chart
Moreno-Cropper, meanwhile, saw some WR action last year as an undrafted free agent out of Fresno State — where he played for head coach Jeff Tedford (who once coached Chicago Bears WR Keenan Allen and former NFL wideout DeSean Jackson). The second-year wideout, though, is yet to catch a football during the NFL regular season.
With training camp set to end on Aug. 21, the Cowboys and Jones now have 10 days left to see if they can sign Lamb, get him back up to speed during the Oxnard sessions, and bolster this WR core. However, Jones’ words — even when trying to backtrack — come off as uninspiring for Cowboys fans who hope Lamb’s contract saga can reach a positive resolution.
