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          Jerry Jones on CeeDee Lamb talks: Don't want to be 'misconstrued'

          • Lindsey Thiry, ESPNAug 14, 2024, 07:42 PM ET
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              Lindsey Thiry is a national NFL reporter for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2018 to cover the Los Angeles Rams after two years of covering them for the Los Angeles Times, and has also covered the Chargers for ESPN. She previously covered the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow her on Twitter/X @LindseyThiry.

          OXNARD, Calif. -- Following a joint practice against the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones remained on message regarding contract negotiations with star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, telling ESPN, "We're conscientiously working to get something done."

          Three days earlier, following a preseason game with the Rams, Jones attempted to correct course in his public comments about the ongoing situation after he previously said he felt no urgency to get a deal done -- a comment Lamb quickly saw on X and shared with a "lol."

          "I understand completely the angst that's happening when you're anxious about and someone says anything about whether you're missed or not. Well, CeeDee, you're missed, OK?" Jones said on the Cowboys' pregame show prior to their preseason opener. "But you're not missed out here competing, and it doesn't put any pressure any place on us."

          Asked Wednesday what he made of Lamb's response to his comments on social media, Jones emphasized that he did not "want to be misconstrued" regarding the wide receiver.

          "We obviously do this because of how bad we want to be together," Jones said. "I know he wants to be a Dallas Cowboy and we want him to be a Dallas Cowboy, so I don't flare too much when we see something that might be taken the wrong way, I really don't."

          Entering the fifth and final season of his rookie contract, Lamb is chasing a deal that would place him among the highest-paid receivers in the NFL, putting his contract potentially on par with the Minnesota Vikings' Justin Jefferson, who in the offseason signed a four-year, $140 million deal that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league.

          Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is also due an extension as he enters the final season of his four-year, $160 million deal.

          "I don't want to say anything is progress, but it's ongoing and that's just the nature of what you have when you've got an agreement and you're still working to get a new one," Jones said.

          Prescott is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the season with a clause in his contract that would not allow the Cowboys to use a franchise tag on him.