Emmitt Smith was one of the main stars on the Cowboys when Dallas won its most recent Super Bowl. Now, Smith is 55, has been retired for going on 20 years, and is tired of watching his old team fall short on a yearly basis.
The Hall of Fame running back is specifically not pleased with the team’s handling of quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb. Smith’s comments were made prior to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones telling reporters on Thursday night that he doesn’t have a sense of urgency to extend Lamb’s contract.
“He is a very, very valuable asset to the Dallas Cowboys,” Smith said of Lamb during an interview with SB Nation. “He is a very, very valuable asset to Dak Prescott. Without him on the football field, they’re putting all of the pressure on Dak Prescott now. And that is unacceptable. Because every quarterback of his caliber should have quality people to throw the ball to. Not no Plan B or no Plan C or no Plan D guy.
“He should be in a position, as your franchise quarterback, he should be in a position to be successful. And right now you putting him behind the eight ball. And that is not right. And that’s how I see it.”
Quarterbacks are largely only as good as the talent around them. With Lamb currently holding out, the Cowboys’ skill-position players are lacking outside of No. 2 wideout Brandin Cooks. The Cowboys don’t have much depth at receiver and are relying on running back Ezekiel Elliott to find the fountain of youth after letting Tony Pollard leave via free agency.
As Smith alluded to, the Cowboys really don’t have an option other than to pay Lamb. And to further add to Smith’s point regarding Prescott, the situation is especially damming to him given that he is playing under the last year of his contract as Dallas has yet to offer him an extension.
Smith also feels that there is a disconnect between the team and the front office that needs to be addressed if the Cowboys are going to return to their glory years anytime soon. That disconnect was on display on Thursday night, when Jones drew the ire of fans and his players with his comments about Lamb’s contract status.
“Over the last 20-some odd years, watching our team get to the playoffs time and time again, being told that we’re going to do better,” Smith said. “This is going to be a Super Bowl year for us. And we just get completely let down. It’s like fan fatigue now. It’s all of that going on right now. And people are sick and tired of watching it. And they want to see something different.
“And we have to try, as an organization, we have to go and do a complete assessment in terms of the organization itself. What is our mission? And how does our mission align with the football team? On the surface we would think everything is in alignment. But to me, I think there’s a little disconnect there. And we need to resolve that fairly quickly because 20-some odd years, man, that’s a long time.”
