Injuries Won’t Stop CeeDee Lamb from Pursuing a Win

FRISCO, Texas – In a year where CeeDee Lamb says he’s been in more pain throughout the course of a season than ever before in his career, there are times where you could never tell.

Lamb suffered a shoulder injury in the Cowboys’ Week 9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and it’s been lingering ever since. Still, week in and week out, Lamb is battling through whatever pain comes his way to be on the field with his teammates.

“Not really because adrenaline gets going, and then I’m trying to make my plays for my guys, I’m not really so much worried about being hurt…” Lamb said when asked if he feels any pain during games. “When I get out there, I’m thinking about winning the football game.”

And while the Cowboys haven’t won as many games as they’d like through 14 weeks of the season, that doesn’t change the motivation for suiting up.

“Be able to win the game regardless, at the end of the day you’ve still got to win the game, that’s the motivation.” Lamb said.

Lamb is diligent in his preparation each week to make sure that he’s able to keep up with the physicality of the game especially when dealing with an injury. Even if he’s going through it, he wants to lead by example.

Making sure I’m able to move all my intangibles to say the least,” Lamb said. At the rate that I’ve been pre-shoulder injury, making sure that I’m out there for those guys leading in any way that I can… they know when I’m out there, I’m battling.”

With that leadership comes being able to help Dallas’ younger players understand how to handle playing through an injury, and when to know if it’s wiser to sit out a game instead of trying to play through something and make it worse.

“If it’s impeding with what you do, as far as contributing to the team and contributing to winning, then I suggest you stay out, because I don’t want you to embarrass yourself…” Lamb said. “But if you have a chance of going out there and still having an opportunity of withstanding those injuries… still being able to play at a high level, then you’re fine.”

And Lamb’s ability to lead by example has been evident to Mike McCarthy and the coaching staff as well, as Lamb’s presence alone on the field does a lot for their offense.

“CeeDee’s an impact player, he’s one of the best players in the game, it’s important not only what he gives us when the balls in his hands but how defenses react to him, just where he lands up creates opportunities for others,” McCarthy said. “CeeDee’s a very diligent guy as far as how he prepares for games, so he’s a good example that way for our younger guys, he’s a huge part of our football team.”

As the Cowboys get ready to head to Carolina, CeeDee Lamb is 27 receiving yards away from his fourth straight 1,000 yard receiving season. He’s already posted his fifth straight season posting 1,000 or more scrimmage yards, becoming the fifth player in NFL history to record at least 1,000 yards in each of his first five season.

All that is well and good, but it all comes back to the original motivation: Winning the game.

“Trying to play as hard as I can, I’m obviously putting myself out there for the benefit of the team,” Lamb said. “And of course myself I love to compete, but it’s bigger than me.”