The regular season draws ever nearer, and there are still three receivers who are waiting for new contracts. Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk are still holding out from team activities, while Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is continuing with his hold-in.
Lamb is entering the final year of his rookie contract on a fifth-year option and, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the 25-year-old is angling for a contract to rival Justin Jefferson‘s recent deal in Minnesota. This doesn’t necessarily refer to annual average value, but focuses, as well, on guarantees, cashflow, and overall structure. Dallas and Lamb are expected to communicate this weekend as they attempt to get this extension over the finish line.
Chase is still not practicing as he attends team events in Cincinnati. The Bengals have exercised Chase’s fifth-year option, so the 24-year-old still has two years left on his rookie deal. While he hopes to enter the season with a new extension, his former LSU teammate, Jefferson, had to wait until after his fourth NFL season to secure his bag. It’s looking like the same might be true for Chase, but if that’s the case, Cincinnati needs to figure out a way to get Chase on the field and ready for the fast-approaching regular season. Garafolo sees this coming week as a crucial time for the team to navigate this situation.
With Aiyuk, the rumors continue to swirl and paint an unreliable picture. Last night, in an interview on KNBR, Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle claimed that “everything is still on the table, including all the trades you’ve heard about.” He noted the Steelers and Commanders as teams not to rule out but left the picture as cloudy as ever.
After the team’s initial contract offer fell short of expectations, they attempted to bring Aiyuk back in to try and close the gap. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports that the two sides don’t seem to be that far apart on contract figures anymore, and Aiyuk even traveled with the 49ers to their final preseason game in Las Vegas. While this may be a sign of good faith and a sign that the things could be on their way to a solution, Silver’s comments still leave plenty of room for doubt.
The NFL season starts in 13 days. In order for these three receivers to be on the field for Week 1, they’re either going to need to have new contracts in hand or they’re going to need to come to terms with the fact that they’re going to be playing under their current deals with no guarantee that they won’t be testing free agency in the future. While most teams prefer not to have contract discussions during the regular season, there’s always a possibility that close negotiations bleed over a bit into September and deals are reached midseason.
