OXNARD, Calif. — Following an August preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones jokingly said, “Zeke who?” after Dallas running back Tony Pollard played well in the game. Starting running back Ezekiel Elliott was in the process of holding out to get a new contract.
Jones did something similar Thursday after the Cowboys held a training camp practice with the Rams. Jones was asked several questions about star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb’s contract situation. Lamb hasn’t been at training camp as he seeks a new contract.
Jones said he doesn’t feel a sense of urgency to get a new deal done with Lamb. Why?
“I just,” Jones responded before pausing. “I went to high school. I went to college. I don’t know why I said it. I don’t have a sense of urgency about getting it done. Give any reason you want. I was at Nobu two days ago. Put that as a reason.”
Jones laughed multiple times during his response.
Lamb responded to reading a quote from the Jones interview by tweeting “lol.”
lol. https://t.co/AJQqCTtTe8
— CeeDee Lamb (@_CeeDeeThree) August 8, 2024
After being shown the tweet Lamb responded to, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott told reporters, “I got urgency for it to happen.”
Prescott is also seeking a new deal as he enters the final year of his contract.
Less than three weeks after Jones made the “Zeke who?” comment, Elliott had a new six-year, $90 million extension. Maybe the same will happen for Lamb and the Cowboys. Just because Jones joked about not having any urgency doesn’t mean he wants to go into the season without his top offensive playmaker. Sometimes Jones just likes to stir it up.
“Give me some credit, OK?” Jones said last month during the team’s news conference to open training camp. “Y’all think I’m good with numbers? You think I know how to add and subtract? Do I know how to talk? Sell? All of that kind of stuff? That is at play.
“Now, I really realize all of the criticism, and I understand it. I always understood. As a matter of fact, if you think about it, I try to stir it up, and have, since I got here. That’s good. Be relevant. It works.”
Required reading
(Photo: Michael Owens / Getty Images)
