NFL News: Holdouts Continue for Brandon Aiyuk, Ja'Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb

As is usually the case, a majority of testy contract situations around the league were resolved before August, be it via long-term extensions (Jordan Love, Tua Tagovailoa, etc.) or short-term sweeteners (Amari Cooper, Tyreek Hill). There are five players still holding out as of mid-August, with a trio of star wide receivers joined by 49ers LT Trent Williams and Jets edge rusher Haason Reddick. 

We'll look at all five situations below, with a special focus on the WRs since this is, after all, a fantasy football website. Just don't forget about Williams, who is arguably the best lineman in the league and plays for a team with a trio of top-40 fantasy picks (for the time being).

I hoped to look at past cases to see how holdouts might impact WR performance — the way I did for RBs last summer — but there simply aren't many examples to work with even though the position has a reputation for drama and difficult personalities. In fact, there were only three WR holdouts I could find from the last 15 years that lasted into training camp, those being Vincent Jackson (2010), Julio Jones (2018) and Michael Thomas (2019).

History of WR Holdouts

Jackson was a restricted free agent and sat out for seven games rather than signing a tender for $3.26 million. He then served a three-game, team-imposed suspension — which seems kind of petty and self-defeating by the Chargers in hindsight — and suffered a calf strain after two snaps when he finally returned Week 12. Jackson missed Week 13 but then played the final four games and caught 14 passes for 248 yards and three TDs.

Things were much less interesting with Jones in 2018. He held out for minicamp but then reported to training camp in late July after the Falcons gave him a $2.9 million raise. He went on to catch 113 passes for 1,677 yards and eight TDs in 16 games — the second-best fantasy season of a prolific career. It was a similar story for Thomas in 2019. His holdout ended in late July with the announcement of a five-year contract, and he then set a single-season record with 149 receptions.

Unfortunately, none of these examples entailed the most likely scenario for our 2024 WR holdouts, which is missing most/all of training camp before returning to practice at some point between mid-August and Week 1. Looking farther in the past isn't much help, with other examples including 2009 Michael Crabtree (a rookie holdout that lasted until October), 1999 Joey Galloway (missed half the season, then played poorly) and 1999 Carl Pickens (signed right before Week 1, but was out of the league within 48 months).

Ongoing 2024 Holdouts

WR Brandon Aiyuk

• Holding "In" / Trade Requested
• Concern Level: Medium-High

This has been the primary NFL drama of the summer and seems to have reached a point at which personalities, feelings and frustration come into play, whereas things appear to be more of a strictly business nature with Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb and Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase. That perhaps shouldn't be surprising, as Dallas and Cincinnati likely are acknowledging that their receivers are the elite of the elite and deserve to be paid as such — the argument coming from the teams is probably that Justin Jefferson's contract is ridiculous and they don't quite want to match it. (The reality is that Jefferson is ridiculous, not his contract, and even A+ talents like Lamb and Chase aren't quite on par with their Minnesota counterpart.)

In Aiyuk's case, reports earlier this summer suggested the Niners hadn't been willing to go above $26 million per season or so, which could easily be interpreted as "we don't think you're as good as DJ Moore or Jaylen Waddle." That's probably correct, but the Niners are in an obvious Super Bowl window with a starting QB on a seventh-round rookie contract, and Aiyuk is coming off a career-best season with 1,342 yards and seven TDs (on only 105 targets).

He's not wrong to be frustrated with the team's hardline negotiating stance, and the past few weeks have brought trade rumors and negotiations ... which are hard to figure out because interested teams need to work out a trade with the 49ers and also a contract with Aiyuk. Reports suggest the Patriots and Browns reached terms with the 49ers but couldn't convince Aiyuk to play for them despite besting San Francisco's contract offer.

All the current chatter focuses on Pittsburgh, which for some odd reason is Aiyuk's preferred destination even though Arthur Smith is the offensive coordinator and Russell Wilson and Justin Fields the quarterbacks. I don't quite view Smith as the passing-game pariah some make him out to be, but he obviously loves to run the ball and now finds himself in another situation where he may need to hide his QBs.

At this point, my concern with Aiyuk is less that he'll continue his hold out into the regular season (something that almost never happens in the NFL) and more that he'll get traded to Pittsburgh, where his volume might be the same as in San Francisco and his efficiency would be at risk of cratering. The good news is that we may have a resolution within the next day or two.

WR CeeDee Lamb

• Holding Out - Not at Training Camp
• Concern Level: Medium-Low

Lamb is due $17.99 million this season under the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. He's been holding out since spring and has accrued more than $1.5 million in fines, including a $999.5k game fine for the first week of the preseason. Because he's on a rookie contract, the Cowboys are able to waive those fines, which they presumably will do if/when Lamb signs a long-term deal.

If Lamb continues his holdout into the regular season he'll miss out on $999.5k for each game, without the ability to get the money back. There aren't many recent precedents for players under contract holding out into the regular season. Chiefs DT Chris Jones missed Week 1 last year, RB Melvin Gordon missed four games in 2019, and S Kam Chancellor sat out two games in 2015. The most famous modern example, RB Le'Veon Bell, was on an unsigned franchise tag, not technically under contract.

The concern here is probably more about Lamb's preparation/fitness than actual fear he might miss a game, even though the latter situation can't be entirely ruled out yet. He should still be drafted in the top half of the first round in fantasy drafts, but it's reasonable to move him down a spot or two if you consider it a close call between Lamb and the other options. Of course, one of those other options is also seeking a new contract (see below), and RB Christian McCaffrey is recovering from a calf strain. Tyreek Hill offers similar upside without any contract or injury concerns, FWIW.

WR Ja'Marr Chase

• Holding "In" - Attending Meetings but Not Practicing
• Concern Level: Low

I believe this is the first time since the introduction of the rookie wage scale in 2011 that we've seen a prolonged holdout from a player with multiple years remaining on his rookie deal. Granted, one of those seasons is the fifth-year option, and Bengals owner Mike Brown has a mixed track record when it comes to taking care of the team's best players (much better in recent years, however).

Chase has been an observer throughout all of training camp, up until Tuesday when he wasn't spotted at all. Coach Zac Taylor declined to provide an update, so this could mean Chase is taking a harder stance, or it could just mean he's sick, attending to a personal/family matter, etc. Either way, he's unlikely to continue holding out beyond the next week or two.

OT Trent Williams

• Holding Out
• Concern Level: Medium

This may partially be about Williams not wanting to attend training camp, as he's 36 and achieving a rare level of dominance. On the other hand, he's not on a rookie contract, which means he'll actually have to pay his fines, now totaling well over $1.5 million after his holdout continued through San Francisco's first preseason game. 

CBS Sports' Joel Corry wrote a good breakdown of the financial implications for Williams last week, and it's hard to entirely dismiss concern now that the star blindside protector has taken things to the point of accruing such large fines. I'm guessing the two sides reach an agreement soon, but it can't be considered a full guarantee, especially given that Williams held out for nearly half a season back in 2019 with Washington.

OLB Haason Reddick

• Holding Out
• Concern Level: High

This is certainly the funniest holdout, with the Eagles having traded Reddick to the Jets in March because he wanted a new contract that Philadelphia wasn't willing to give him. The Jets have also declined to give him said contract, leading to widespread criticism of the decision to trade for Reddick in the first place (they gave up a conditional third-round pick).

The Jets' current strategy is essentially using the media to call Reddick a liar and claim that he told the team he wouldn't hold out (and would play out his contract year as the most underpaid veteran in the league at his position). Even if that's true, which we can't be sure of, the tactics here aren't likely to mend fences and get Reddick on the field. The attempt to manage public perception through media lickspittles who don't bother with follow-up questions, additional research or pursuing multiple sides of a story is classic Jets behavior, and the latest reports suggest Reddick is requesting a(nother) trade.