DALLAS _ CeeDee Lamb's jersey is available on the NFL's official marketplace.
The number brings news.
The Cowboys wide receiver apparently has been assigned the No. 88 jersey. That figure carries significance not only for the franchise _ Michael Irvin, Drew Pearson and Dez Bryant are all wide receivers who have worn it prominently _ but bears personal consequence for team owner Jerry Jones.
Last Thursday, following the first-round selection of Lamb, Jones rehashed comments he made when the Cowboys were on the clock with the No. 17 overall pick. Jerry Lamb, a former Arkansas football teammate and close friend of Jones, came to mind.
"This is a little drama from my perspective," Jones said, "but when we were all sitting there and had said our peace, then we said, 'OK. What's it going to be?' I said in honor of my great friend that just passed (in December), we're going to have his namesake come on over here and wear old number 88 just like Michael and Dez and those guys. And we've got us a receiver. Let me tell you one thing: If he's got the compete and heart of that Jerry Lamb, he'll be bad to the bone.' "
Lamb publicly had expressed some interest in wearing No. 10 in the NFL.
Bryant, the No. 24 overall pick in 2010, preceded Lamb as most recent wide receiver whom the Cowboys drafted in the first round. He has trained to make an NFL return and expressed interest in playing for the franchise; however, that outlook long has seemed unlikely.
If the door for a Bryant return was closed, Lamb's jersey assignment could have locked it.
A team spokesman, when reached for confirmation of Lamb's jersey number, said the NFL Shop listing "appears accurate."
