NFL: Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and pass rusher Micah Parsons were absent at the start of voluntary workouts Monday, underscoring their contract situations as dramatic offseason subplots in Dallas. Lamb enters the final year of his contract, a fifth-year option worth a guaranteed $17.199 million, after being named first-team All-Pro in 2023. Parsons has two years remaining under team control including a fifth-year option for 2025. His absence was expected after the Cowboys permitted Parsons to work out on his own. He was seventh in the NFL last season with 14 sacks. Parsons had 13 sacks as a rookie in 2021 and 13.5 in 2022. Lamb broke Michael Irvin's single-season franchise marks with an NFL-high 135 catches and 1,749 yards, adding a career-high 12 touchdown catches in 17 starts in 2023. Dallas faces difficult footing in contract talks with multiple key players from a group that includes Lamb, quarterback Dak Prescott and Parsons. Prescott is in the final year of a four-year, $160 million contract, and Parsons has one year left on his rookie deal but will be on the fifth-year team option in 2025. Parsons is owed a base salary of $2.99 million in 2024 with a projected fifth-year option price tag in 2025 of $21.32 million. --Field Level Media