Cowboys' Dak Prescott claims CeeDee Lamb will 'be ready' when time comes

Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is set to play on his $17.99 million fifth-year option in 2024.

That is far behind the highest-paid players at his position, highlighted by Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who will make $35 million per year thanks to the new mega-deal he signed this offseason.

Lamb deserves a big payday after registering 395 catches for 5,145 yards and 32 touchdowns since entering the league as the No. 17 overall pick in 2020.

The All-Pro wide receiver knows it, too, skipping Dallas' offseason program, including the mandatory minicamp, which could cost him more than $100,000 in fines.

That has led to many believing Lamb will hold out of training camp if he has yet to receive a new deal when it opens later this month on July 25.

However, heading into the final year of his contract, quarterback Dak Prescott is confident Lamb will return to the team and be ready to dominate when the time comes.

"CeeDee's going to be ready," Prescott said via Jon Machota of The Athletic. "A player like that, an athlete like that, he makes my job easier. Trust me, we'll be just fine."

Of course, that doesn't answer the question of when Lamb will return. Whether that is at the start of training camp or Week 1 remains debatable, but Prescott and Lamb already have an established connection.

The later Lamb returns, the longer it will take the two to shake off whatever rust there is, but Prescott reveals they're already ahead of the game after throwing "a good amount" to Lamb this offseason and plans for more work before training camp begins.

Lamb can unseat Jefferson as the NFL's highest-paid non-quarterback with more catches and touchdowns than him over the past four seasons. If Dallas were willing to dish out that kind of money, though, the deal would have likely been done by now.