Ceedee Lamb #88 of the Dallas Cowboys
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Ceedee Lamb #88 of the Dallas Cowboys
No doubt, at the time it happened last summer, the Dallas Cowboys were roundly criticized for how they handled the contract situation of star pass-rusher Micah Parsons, who was one of the top three attackers of quarterbacks in the NFL and was seeking to be paid like it. A guy who registers at least 12.0 sacks every season, who is an All-Pro in every season he’s bene healthy, playing the most important position on a defense–you just don’t let a guy like that walk.
The Cowboys did, though, trading him to Green Bay for a first-round pick and Kenny Clark. The defense was awful in the wake of the trade, among the worst in the NFL. But in the months since the deal, especially with Parsons having suffered a torn ACL and with Dallas having used a first-round pick to get Quinnen Williams from the Jets, even the harshest critics of owner Jerry Jones have softened their stances on the trade, at least a little.
And one guy who has come around on the benefits of the trade has been star receiver CeeDee Lamb, a close friend of Parsons.
CeeDee Lamb: ‘Beneficial for Both Parties’
Speaking on “The Rich Eisen Show” last week (h/t Dallas Morning News), Lamb said he can look back now and see that the Parsons deal was beneficial to the Cowboys, and could be beneficial to Parsons, too, if he can get back healthy with the Packers. Certainly, the four-year, $188 million contract he got in Green Bay was beneficial.
“I was pretty upset when Micah left. I’m not afraid to say it again,” Lamb said, “But I feel like it was beneficial for both parties. Micah got the money that he deserved. And, at the end of the day, we ended up with Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark when we couldn’t stop the run. So that was pretty good.”
Cowboys Need a Pass Rusher
But then, the Cowboys did not stop much of anybody even after adding Clark and Williams, and the issues on the defense are, Lamb can only hope, being addressed. He thinks the offense, as much as the unit took off last season, can help, too.
“For us to elevate as far as defensive-wise—but then, we’re missing a pass rusher to get to the QB. I feel like that’s what we were missing. But overall as a team and as a unit we could be better and step up and hold our end of the bargain,” Lamb said. “But Micah is my man, he knows that. That brotherly love is never lost.”
CeeDee Lamb Wants to Get Better to Help Cowboys to the Super Bowl
And Lamb said that he hopes to be part of the Cowboys improvement, that even with the accolades and accomplishments he has amassed in recent years, he can get better in his quest to get Dallas to a Super Bowl.
“How can I get us there? How can I help? What moves or what steps in the right direction do I need to take to get us there, as far as a leader, a kid looking up in the NFL and always wanting to play in the NFL?” Lamb wondered. “So there’s different POVs and perspectives in the way I can look at it. But right now as a player on this team, it’s, ‘How much better can I get?’”