Veteran linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence became a free agent following the end of the 2024 season, but it didn’t take him long to find a new team by signing a three-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks. The news of Lawrence joining a different team came as a shock for CeeDee Lamb.

Lawrence spent 11 seasons with the Cowboys after they drafted him in the first round of the 2014 draft, spending his entire NFL career with the Dallas franchise. There were talks of the Cowboys keeping the 32-year-old for one more year considering they traded linebacker Chauncey Golston to the New York Giants for draft picks.

Despite the chitchat, the Cowboys let the 4x Pro Bowler leave. On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that DeMarcus Lawrence signed a three-year, $42M max deal with $18M guaranteed.

CeeDee Lamb was on his way to the gym in his car when he read about Lawrence signing with the Seahawks. The expression on the 25-year-old’s face changed very quickly, and he had a hard time believing the news.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks are in full rebuild mode. Head coach Brian Callahan cleaned house by cutting ties with star players Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, and Geno Smith.

The Seahawks made their biggest addition by giving Sam Darnold a three-year, $100.5 million contract to replace Smith. Now they have added Lawrence as a veteran presence in the locker room.

DeMarcus Lawrence was a stud for the Cowboys

Lawrence’s final season with the Cowboys didn’t go according to the plan. He only played four games in 2024 because of a right midfoot sprain suffered against the Giants early on in the season. The Cowboys finished the year with a 7-10 record. Lawrence contributed 14 tackles, 3 sacks, and 8 quarterback pressures.

Lawrence occupied the No. 1 pass rusher position for the Cowboys before Micah Parsons joined the team. They even agreed to a five-year, $105 million guaranteed deal in 2019 and placed two franchise tags on him before the release in 2024. In 138 games for the Cowboys, Lawrence recorded a total of 450 tackles for 61.5 sacks.

CeeDee Lamb’s restructured contract has made extra cap space to sign Super Bowl winner

Lamb’s rookie contract ended in 2024, and he began putting pressure on the Cowboys brass by skipping camp. The Cowboys weren’t sure whether to honor his wishes or not because they had already paid Dak Prescott big money. Eventually, they gave in as they risked losing the former Sooner to a rival team. Lamb signed a four-year, $136 million deal with $100 million guaranteed and a $38 million signing bonus to stay with the Cowboys through the 2028 season.

A year later, both Prescott and Lamb agreed to restructure their contract, creating $36.6 million in salary cap space as a result of the move. Prescott originally had a cap number of $53 million for 2025 and $76.5 million in 2026, according to Over The Cap.

Cowboys’ addition in the free agency

Earlier this month, Jones announced that he wasn’t looking at free agency to fill the voids in the Cowboys locker room. Historical records point in the same direction. The Cowboys only spent above $6 million once in free agency, which was back in 2015.

The Cowboys’ first move in the current free agency was signing former Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams to a one-year, $3 million deal. They further added guard Robert Jones for one year, $4.5 million, and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas from the Jets for a two-year, $8 million deal.