Cowboys cut star receiver Bryant to clear cap space
Dez Bryant never lived up to the big contract he signed with the Dallas Cowboys when he was among the best receivers in the NFL.
If the franchise leader in touchdown catches is going to find his 2014 all-pro form again, it will be with another team.
The Cowboys released Bryant on Friday, deciding salary-cap relief and declining production from one of their biggest stars outweighed the risk of him proving them wrong by becoming a Pro Bowl player again somewhere else.
And Bryant used Twitter to make it clear that he will be trying.
“If I didn’t have my edge, I’ve got it now,” he wrote among a flurry of tweets over two days, starting the day before a meeting where owner and general manager Jerry Jones told him he was being released. “It’s very personal.”
The 29-year-old Bryant signed a $70 million, five-year deal after leading the NFL with 16 touchdowns in 2014. But he didn’t have a 1,000-yard season in three years under the big contract, and just played all 16 games without a 100-yard day for the first time in his eight-year career.
Bryant was owed $12.5 million on each of the last two years of his deal, with a $16.5 million salary cap hit both times. The release clears about $8.5 million in cap space.
“This was not an easy decision,” Jones said. “It was made based upon doing what we believe is in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys. We arrived at this crossroad collectively with input from several voices within the organization.”
Bryant was a distraction throughout his career with sideline rants, even admitting late last season that he let frustrations affect him during perhaps his most difficult year in the league. He said some of the frustration was rooted in the offensive scheme.
With 73 touchdown catches, Bryant tops a Dallas list that includes Hall of Fame receivers Bob Hayes (71) and Michael Irvin (65). Tight end Jason Witten, who is getting ready for his 16th season, has 68 career TD catches.
A dramatic dip in production started when Bryant broke his foot in the opener in 2015, a year after he helped the Cowboys win the NFC East and just their second playoff game since the last of the franchise’s five Super Bowls following the 1995 season.
Bryant battled injuries each of the past two years as well, but when healthy he wasn’t the same receiver who had the famous catch that wasn’t against Green Bay in a loss that kept the Cowboys out of the NFC Championship Game three years ago. He was second in the NFL with 11 drops last season.
Seahawks sign Janikowski: The Seattle Seahawks signed former Oakland Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski to a one-year contract.
Janikowski, who was born and raised in Poland before moving to Florida when he was 16, had a 17-year run with the Raiders before missing the 2017 season with a back injury.
Known for his big leg, Janikowski tied the NFL record for longest field goal, making a 63-yarder in 2011, a record that has since been broken by 1 yard, and he holds an NFL record with 55 field goals of 50 or more yards.