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Ceedee Lamb #88 of the Dallas Cowboys

Injuries limited Dallas Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb to 14 games last season, and hobbled him in some of the games in which he did appear. Alongside that came the emergence of fellow star receiver George Pickens, whose 1,429-yard season took pressure off Lamb and more than masked the injuries he was playing through.

Still, in a “down” year for Lamb, he wound up with 75 catches and 1,077 yards, setting a career high with 14.4 yards per reception last season. It’s not the franchise record 135 catches and 1,749 yards he put up back in 2023, but it is still the kind of season that most No. 1 wide receivers would welcome.

Moreover, Lamb has been as responsible as anyone for the smooth transition Pickens had into the Cowboys, as Lamb welcomed him with open arms into the fold and willingly conceded targets and catches to his new running mate. The two became fast friends, and Lamb has been alongside Pickens during what was an odd offseason, with the Cowboys hitting him with the franchise tag.

CeeDee Lamb Agreed to Wear No. 88

Lamb has ascended to the ranks of all-time great Cowboys receivers, a list that includes Drew Pearson, Tony Hill and Dez Bryant, but that is topped by one icon: Michael Irvin. And on his “The White House” podcast, Irvin relayed a story that drew a heartfelt response from Lamb on social media.

Irvin explained that, coming into the NFL as a first-round pick from Oklahoma in 2020, Lamb wanted to wear No. 2. But owner Jerry Jones thought Lamb was good enough to wear No. 88, a number donned by Pearson, Bryant and most famously, Irvin. But Jones wanted Irvin’s blessing, so Lamb called him.

Relayed Irvin: “He said, ‘I want to call you and talk to you about 88.’ He said, ‘Michael, I have always wanted to wear No. 2.’ I said, ‘You gotta do what’s going to make you do what you need to do every morning. If you wear 88, there’s a whole lot comes with that. As soon as you get it, you’re going to raise the hope up of a whole Cowboys nation. And it’s a lot of pressure. If it’s too much for you, we understand. Just wear the No. 2.’

“I said, if you are not ‘Him,’ we will keep searching for the next one. The next day he said, ‘I am going to wear it, I am going to do it.’ Now, go deliver. And he has.”

Encouraging Response for Cowboys

What’s got to be encouraging for the Dallas Cowboys, though, is that Lamb, in the end, is not so sure he actually delivered. This is a team still working on a 30-year Super Bowl drought, and Lamb knows that to truly deliver the way that Irvin did, he’s got to help the Cowboys erase that recent history.

Lamb wrote on Twitter/X: “Just being honest. i haven’t done anything yet. Grateful always, Appreciate u Mike for sharing, I need more. No Greed just hunger.”

Lamb is still only 27, and with Pickens running routes on the opposite side, this should be a big season for him.