Browns Digest

Browns Week 1 Opponent Cowboys Dealing With Holdout From Key Player

Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is not in attendance at the start of Cowboys training camp due to a contract dispute

Spencer German

Jan 14, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) takes the field against the Green Bay Packers for the 2024 NFC wild card game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 14, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) takes the field against the Green Bay Packers for the 2024 NFC wild card game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
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The Browns open up the 2024 season with a bang as the Dallas Cowboys are slated to come to Cleveland on Sunday Sept. 8. Whether or not "America's Team" has one of it's best players for the Week 1 trip is unclear.

According to multiple reports on Wednesday night the Star's star wide reciever CeeDee Lamb did not report for the start of Cowboys training camp today. The 25-year-old is entering the final year of his rookie deal with Dallas, which is slated to pay him just under $18 million this season. Negotiations between Lamb and the team have been ongoing but the two sides couldn't come to terms on an extension before the start of training camp.

Holdouts with star players tend to evolve fairly quickly in the NFL with the season fast approaching. So while Lamb's absence this week will cause a stir, it isn't necessarily time for Cowboys fans to panic.

However, if the standoff lingers deep into camp and potentially into the leadup to the regular season it could serve to benefit the Browns come Week 1. The Cowboys are a very different team without Lamb on the field, who is a consensus top 5 wide receiver in football and was the team's most productive player in 2023. He led the league in receptions (135), was second in receiving yards (1,749) and third in receiving touchdowns.

Browns fans shouldn't necessarily start counting their eggs before they hatch when it comes to Lamb's availability ahead of that Week 1 showdown, but at the very least it's a situation they should monitor throughout the coming weeks.

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Spencer German

SPENCER GERMAN

Spencer German is a contributor to the Northeast Ohio cluster of sites, including Cavs Insider, Cleveland Baseball Insider and most notably Browns Digest. He also works as a fill-in host on Cleveland Sports Radio, 92.3 The Fan, one of the Browns radio affiliate stations in Cleveland. Despite being a Cleveland transplant, Spencer has enjoyed making Northeast Ohio home ever since he attended college locally at John Carroll University, where he graduated in 2013.

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