The Cowboys traded Amari Cooper to the Browns for a fifth-round draft pick because they were ready to make CeeDee Lamb their No. 1 receiver and didn’t want to pay Cooper $20 million as a No. 2 receiver. It’s a small sample size, but after one game with Cooper in Cleveland and Lamb as the Cowboys’ lead receiver, it was a bad decision.
The Cowboys were missing wideouts Michael Gallup, who is working his way back from an ACL tear on Jan. 2, and James Washington, whose foot injury Aug. 1 is expected to keep him out 6-10 weeks.
But Lamb looked nothing like a No. 1 receiver on opening night.
The third-year receiver saw 11 targets and finished with two catches for 29 yards.
“I think we’ve certainly got to step up and do better,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan on Monday, via Mark Lane of WFAA. “The passing game goes hand-in-hand, the quarterback and the receivers. Certainly, we’ve got to be better there. CeeDee has got to improve and work his way into being the No. 1 receiver we think he can [be].”
The Cowboys managed only 173 passing yards, and Dak Prescott had the third-worst passer rating of his career before fracturing his hand in the fourth quarter. Prescott will miss 6-8 weeks, so now Lamb will have to try to get on the same page with Cooper Rush.
“We should be able to [get connected],” Prescott said of Lamb. “And that’s on me a little bit and just us getting on the same page. Yeah, he’s a hell of a player, and he’s a guy that needs the ball. We’ve got to get it to him more, and it starts with me.”
