ARLINGTON – CeeDee Lamb stood smiling in front of a group of reporters.

It screamed in pain.

The Cowboys wide receiver is this team’s best offensive player. He’s probably the first or second best player on a team struggling with injuries in a season dominated by positioning drafts and discussions about the future.

Lamb’s future is secure as he signed a four-year, $136 million contract extension this summer. The present is all that matters to him now. He suffers from a painful right AC joint sprain.

Everyone knows it. He can’t hide from it. When defenders attack him, it’s not the physical contact that bothers him, it’s the landing on the ground that causes him more pain.

“My shoulder’s busted, bro,” Lamb said after the Cowboys’ 26-24 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday night. “I won’t even lie to you. I’m just out there fighting and doing what I do. Yeah, bro, that’s no fun.”

Related:The Cowboys’ impressive response in beating Bucs says a lot about the team’s determination and toughness

In the win, Lamb caught seven passes for 105 yards on eight targets. Lamb’s ability to manipulate defenders his way is something he does as well as anyone at his position. He drew two defenders and allowed Jalen Tolbert to sneak past a defender and catch a touchdown pass on Sunday.

Lamb also chose to hold because when you show good footwork you create space, which makes defenders nervous about what you might do if you catch the ball.

This season, Lamb has 101 catches, the third time in his career that he has reached that number. He entered Sunday’s game needing just 32 scrimmage yards to pass Jerry Rice for the fourth-most scrimmage yards by a wide receiver in the first five seasons of his career.

He can check this box.

Lamb doesn’t play for records, but when you’re a talented player, the numbers go up and the records go down.

It would be easy for Lamb to just watch the rest of the 2024 season end without him.

He can’t do that.

“It’s tough,” he said. “It’s like I’m fighting a personal battle and then a team battle. It’s obvious to me that I’m trying to win everything. You can’t win them all, but I know what I can do is make a difference when I’m out there, and they better watch every chance I get out there or they’ll do it.”

It’s interesting to hear that Lamb isn’t tough enough.

Since the NFL played a 17-game season in 2021, Lamb has only missed one game. A concussion cost him a contest against Las Vegas.

He was here every week.

Every week.

“I feel like I’m way past the narrative of the money situation now,” he said. “I do it for the money, of course, but it’s much more than that. This is my way of life. This is what I wanted to do growing up. That’s everything I wanted growing up. So, I’m living my dream now. For anyone to think I’m playing for money, that’s kind of crazy.”

These Cowboys’ season was lost weeks ago.

If you don’t understand why some players continue to struggle with injuries, it’s because of the culture that coach Mike McCarthy and the players themselves have created.

An NFL locker room in December is like a mini emergency room with a crowded waiting room.

These players don’t wait for injuries to make them miss games, they fight through it.

Nobody wants to miss games unless surgery is necessary.

Lamb said he doesn’t need surgery to repair his shoulder. Rest, and plenty of it, will give him the comfort he seeks.

That won’t happen for another two weeks when the Cowboys finish their season.

“I mean, CeeDee is a buddy through and through,” guard Tyler Smith said. “He shows it every week, how he attacks, how he plays the game. It allows me to play harder and he’s a real leader.”

One of the best players remaining is Lamb. Not only does he believe it is his duty to serve his teammates, but also to respect the sport. Because of the pain and suffering involved, it is sometimes difficult to deal with.

But this is where Lamb plays. Battle.

“He’s definitely tough out there,” running back Rico Dowdle said. “It just shows his character and how he said he wants to do what he can for the team and he’s out there making plays and making plays. “A unique guy, a really special player.”

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