CeeDee Lamb knows the expectations are high for him coming to Dallas. But the wideout who just turned 21 years old a few weeks ago was catapulted into another whole eschelon of rarefied air in his first conversation with his new employers at America’s Team.
The Cowboys may have been surprised when Lamb fell to them with the 17th overall pick. What was likely downright jaw-dropping for longtime fans of the team may have been the offer the team made to their new pass-catching prospect.
Lamb announced on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan Thursday night that, after wearing No. 2 in college (and even 9 for a while), he would wear the number 10 as a Cowboy. But Jerry Jones first offered 88, to a player he hadn’t even formally interviewed prior to drafting him.
Dallas Cowboys newest WR CeeDee Lamb announced on @1053thefan that he will wear jersey #10. pic.twitter.com/C6QQheUZ96
— ✭Cowboys News✭ (@DemBoyz_News) April 24, 2020
Dallas doesn’t retire jersey numbers, but 88 is special in Cowboys history. It was Michael Irvin’s number when the team won three Super Bowls. It belonged to Drew Pearson, who hauled in the first-ever Hail Mary touchdown pass from Roger Staubach. Most recently, Dez Bryant wore 88; fans who longed for a reunion with the free agent receiver assumed it would be his if he returned.
Jones offered the vaunted jersey to Lamb, but the owner’s offer may have had less to do with the Cowboys who have worn it than with one of Jones’s college ball connections.
Jones said, according to RJ Ochoa:
“I recently lost a great friend. One of my very best, might have been my best. I played ball with him at Arkansas. He was number 88. His name was Jerry Lamb. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. We couldn’t have won a national championship without him. And he was a wonderful player.
“And so when we were- this is a little drama from our perspective- when we were all sitting there and had said our piece, and then we said, ‘Okay, what’s it going to be?’ I said, ‘In honor of my great friend that just passed this year, we’re going to have his namesake come on here and wear old Number 88. Just like Michael and Dez and those guys.’ And we’ve got us a wide receiver. And let me tell you one thing: if he’s got the competes and heart of that Jerry Lamb, he’ll be bad to the bone.”
Tavon Austin wore No. 10 most recently for the Cowboys, but it’s not a number with much history in Dallas. Maybe Lamb will be the one to start a tradition of excellence with it.
[vertical-gallery id=644388]
[vertical-gallery id=642923]
[lawrence-newsletter]