What Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs said about looming deals with Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys would like to come to agreement on contract extensions with quarterback Dak Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb and cornerback Trevon Diggs before the start or end of the 2023 season.

Prescott has a $59 million cap figure for 2024, which is the final year of the four-year, $160 million deal he signed in 2021.

The Cowboys have openly stated they want to get a deal done to extend Prescott, lower his cap figure so they can sign other players and keep him in a Cowboys uniform for years to come.

The Cowboys recently picked up the fifth-year option on Lamb’s rookie deal, which keeps him under contract through 2024. But they also would like to work out an extension with him. They tried during the spring and will continue to negotiate with his agent.

Diggs is seemingly the most urgent, as he is heading into the final year of his rookie deal.

All three players addressed their individual contract situations this week at the team’s annual Reliant Home Run Derby. The Cowboys’ event raised $86,500 for the Salvation Army.

“I’m very excited,” said Lamb, whose market for a deal is $25 million annually or more. “Dallas is somewhere I’ve always wanted to be. I don’t see myself really wearing any other jersey. I don’t really want to get into too much detail on that, but I’m definitely excited for the future.”

As a two-time Pro Bowler and one season removed from leading in the NFL in interceptions, Diggs is expected to command a deal worth at least $19 million annually.

All he knows is he wants to stay with the Cowboys.

“Hopefully something gets figured out,” Diggs said. “I love Dallas. I love being here. So, I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Prescott’s deal may be the trickiest as the quarterback market continues to explode with recent deals for Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurt and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, paying them $51 million and $52 million annually, and looming deals for Los Angeles Chargers quarterback and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow that should top both of those.

“That’s something I leave to the Cowboys, and I leave to my agent,” Prescott said. “They got it done years ago, and when it’s time to get it done again, I trust in both of them. As [Cowboys vice president] Stephen [Jones] has said, it might happen overnight. Who knows, right? But that’s not any of my concern or in my thought process.”

Prescott said his only focus is getting better and helping the Cowboys take the next step in the playoffs.

He is excited about the addition of receiver Brandin Cooks, who has six 1,000-yard seasons over the last eight years. His speed and mentoring of Lamb and the other young receivers has already taken hold.

“When you’re just throwing to him, it stands out,” Prescott said of Cooks. “His speed is different than many others. The way he approaches the game, his knowledge, he’s already helping CeeDee, helping the young guys, playing cornerback, teaching them little nuances of the route running. He’s going to be huge for me and huge for the room.”

Cooks has played with the Super Bowl champion likes of Tom Brady and Drew Brees. His early impressions of Prescott has the Cowboys quarterback taking a backseat to no one.

“I’ve been around some great ones,” Cooks said. “And we’ve been throwing, and I got to tell you, that guy can sling that ball … He’s special.”

Cooks maintains he still has special speed to take the top off the defense for the Cowboys.

Asked if he still runs 4.3 in the 40-yard dash as he did at the NFL Scouting Combine before he is rookie season in 2014, he didn’t hesitate.

Cooks, who has had six 1,000-yard receiving seasons over the last eight years, said: “No question. I take care of my body. That’s what I invest in, my body.”

Asked what he brings to the Cowboys offense, Cooks was similarly unequivocal.

“Being dynamic,” Cooks said. “Being able to make plays, no matter which way, deep, short, intermediate, it really doesn’t matter. Just coming in and being dynamic.”