Brandon Aiyuk requests trade; Cowboys must pay CeeDee Lamb before he follows suit

Cowboys star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, while waiting for the contract extension he has so vocally requested, could take the same path Brandon Aiyuk just did, requesting to be traded.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has officially requested a trade from the club following an offseason of unsuccessful attempts to reach a contract extension, per NFL Network Insider, Mike Garafolo, on Tuesday.

Aiyuk is scheduled to play on the fifth-year option as a former first-round pick, but after making second-team All-Pro, he wants to be paid higher, just like Lamb.

Brandon Aiyuk is under contract for a little more than $14 million this season. The #49ers survived a trade request from Deebo Samuel. We’ll see if they can find their way through this one from Aiyuk. https://t.co/jKpRuBqOkJ

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 16, 2024

About an hour ago, Mike Garafolo told the world on Twitter that Aiyuk had officially requested a trade after failing to reach an agreement.

The 49ers were in a similar situation with Deebo Samuel not so long ago, but they made it work, so we will see how that goes.

What will it take to get CeeDee Lamb extended?

The more we see this news, the more I worry that CeeDee Lamb will not be a Dallas Cowboy long-term.

Lamb is due close to $18 million in 2024 under the fifth-year option on his rookie deal but is scheduled to hit free agency following the season.

He could conceivably command at least $30 million per year on a new deal, with three other pass catchers (Minnesota Vikings Justin Jefferson — $35 million, Philadelphia Eagles A.J. Brown — $32 million Detroit Lions Amon-Ra St. Brown — $30 million) eclipsing that mark.

Lamb deserves nearly the same as the highest-paid guy at his position, if we are being honest. Justin Jefferson is the only other player that should be in the conversation.

CeeDee said in January he wanted to become the NFL’s highest-paid receiver.

Cowboys Championship Window Closing

Lamb is not expected to show up for training camp unless he has an extension in place. He already skipped minicamp, so that’s not surprising.

That cost him a $100K fine; players who skip training camp are subject to a $50K fine for each day missed.

This is do-or-die for the Dallas Cowboys.

The Championship window is closing for the Dallas Cowboys. If they continue to leave their best offensive player unsigned, and he does request a trade like Aiyuk, this team is done.

Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott seem to be playing for their future in Dallas, and not getting a deal done with Lamb, even risking him demanding a trade, does not make sense right now.

The only way it makes sense to trade CeeDee Lamb would be if the Cowboys were ready to blow everything up and start from scratch.

Don’t Follow Suit, CeeDee

If they believe Prescott can take them to the Super Bowl, they need to ensure he has a No. 1 target. Conversely, if they believe Trey Lance can be a starting quarterback, his life becomes easier with CeeDee Lamb wearing a star on his helmet.

Either way you look at it, he should be signed long-term. Don’t take any chances.

The Cowboys already have enough to deal with. Micah Parsons can’t stay off of X/Twitter, and folks are wondering if Prescott is going to be around after this season. The last thing they need is to have Lamb request a trade.

If they even think about trading Lamb in lieu of getting a deal done, this front office will face tremendous backlash from much of their substantial fan base.

Training camp is next week, and boy would it be nice to have CeeDee Lamb in the building with the rest of the offense.

I think about the Dez Bryant situation back in 2015. He tweeted he wouldn’t show up without a new deal, which lit a fire under the front office’s butt, and he got signed on July 15th of that summer.

He was in the building doing what he needed to do come time for training camp, and it’s time now to do the same with CeeDee Lamb.