Jerry Jones, Cowboys playing dangerous game in CeeDee Lamb negotiations

Jerry Jones has taken the same approach to CeeDee Lamb's contract that he seemingly has to everything this offseason. It's all been like a big shrug of his shoulders. Any movement is glacial. He does not "have a sense of urgency" to get it done.

But he should.

Whether the Dallas Cowboys owner likes it or not, time is running out to close a deal that will get Lamb back in time — and up to full speed — for Opening Day. They break training camp this Thursday. After that, there are just 17 days before their first game. Everyone around the league expects — or at least assumes — they'll get a deal done with the 27-year-old receiver before Week 1, because history shows that's what Jones does. He waits until the very last minute.

That's just a really dangerous game to play entering a season where the Cowboys need Lamb if they have any hopes of competing at all in the NFC.

Lamb really is that important to their offense. And it's not just that Lamb has averaged 121 catches for 1,554 yards and 10.5 touchdowns over the last two seasons — including the greatest season for a Cowboys receiver ever last year (135-1,749-12). It's more about the gap between him and the rest of the team's offensive weapons, which is dangerously large.

And the Cowboys know it. Or at least they should. Lamb was targeted on 30 percent of Dak Prescott's throws last season. He had three times as many catches as the Cowboys' No. 2 receiver last season (Brandin Cooks, 54) and nearly three times as many yards (Cooks, 657). He even nearly doubled the number of catches made by Prescott's second-favorite target, tight end Jake Ferguson (71).

There's no way they can close that gap because they're just not in Lamb's class. The same is clearly true for emerging third