Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase are among the players holding out of training camp this summer amid contract negotiations. While their teams know how valuable they are on the field, one or both of them might have to find out the hard way in 2024.
Both standouts wide receivers are in similar positions. Lamb is in the final season of his rookie contract, owed a fully guaranteed $17.991 million salary for the upcoming season before becoming a free agent in 2025. Chase, drafted a year after Lamb, is in the fourth year of his rookie deal with a $21.816 million team option for 2025.
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- Ja’Marr Chase contract (Spotrac): $1.055 million base salary in 2024, $21.816 million salary in 2025
Unhappy with their current deals and seeking to gain some leverage over the Cowboys and Bengals, Lamb and Chase have both sat out training camp. While there has been some promising NFL news on contract talks between Dallas and its All-Pro receiver, it appears holding out into the regular season is still possible.
Yahoo Sports senior NFL insider Charles Robinson shared on the Inside Coverage podcast that he does believe there’s a chance Lamb or Chase will sit out regular-season games as part of a contract holdout.
“Yeah, absolutely. I think there’s definitely a possibility…These are guys who have real leverage in terms of insitutional knowledge, people know the players that they are. They also know what the offenses look like when you take these guys off the field. They can afford to sit out, to miss game checks.”
Charles Robinson on the possibility of Ja’Marr Chase or CeeDee Lamb sitting out games in 2024
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Will CeeDee Lamb start Week 1?
Dallas seems to be prioritizing a resolution with Lamb. The two sides have maintained communication on a long-term deal that would make him one of the highest-paid wide receivers, just behind Justin Jefferson. So the odds of Lamb missing Week 1 are extremely low.
Chase is in a different situation. Not only is he under contract for next season, but Bengals owner and president Mike Brown announced in July that the team isn’t putting a firm timeline on a deal. In the organization’s eyes, it doesn’t have to sign Chase this offseason or even next because it can use the franchise tag in 2026.
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If Chase opted to sit out regular-season games in 2024, he would forego his weekly game check for each matchup he misses. It wouldn’t be a significant final blow, especially given what he’ll earn on his next deal. However, his absence would have a dramatic impact on the Bengals offense and Joe Burrow. In all likelihood, Chase will return to the field right before the regular season kicks off.