Clarity emerges around Cowboys' decision to shut down CeeDee Lamb for the season following Mike McCarthy's comments
The Dallas Cowboys are shutting down CeeDee Lamb for the team's final two games of the 2024 NFL regular season, the team announced Thursday. Lamb suffered a shoulder injury in Week 9 and played through it for eight games after that but the Cowboys determined enough was enough following the team's official elimination from the playoffs. But […]
The Dallas Cowboys are shutting down CeeDee Lamb for the team's final two games of the 2024 NFL regular season, the team announced Thursday.
Lamb suffered a shoulder injury in Week 9 and played through it for eight games after that but the Cowboys determined enough was enough following the team's official elimination from the playoffs.
But that's not all that led to the final decision as additional clarity emerged on Friday through head coach Mike McCarthy's comments on 105.3 The Fan.
"He's been playing with the shoulder for some time, and when they had to do the scans and the examination, it just—it was clearly worse than it's been," McCarthy revealed on the radio. "The risk is too high to play this week. Even if this were Week 3, this would probably be the same decision. So, it's important for him to shut it down and start rehabbing."
The comments from the Cowboys coach just make Lamb's effort to continue to play through injury even more impressive. Fans and media members got to see CeeDee play while visibly in pain on a weekly basis. Not only did he post impressive receiving numbers throughout the year but Lamb also did enough to bury the narratives about him having a negative attitude when things weren't going right.
Clearly, the decision to call it a year for Lamb has more to it than just the fact that the Cowboys are out of the running. Risking a more serious injury to No. 88 in the heels of injuries to stars like DeMarvion Overshown and Trevon Diggs, who are already in question for 2025, would be playing with fire.
For now, the Cowboys are set to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday while Lamb sets his sights on the next season. CeeDee's year ends with him currently ranked third in the NFL in both receptions (101) and receiving yards (1,194).
