Jones’ bond with Bryant not enough to keep receiver
Cutting often-injured player with declining skills saves Dallas $8.5 million on salary cap
It wasn’t that long ago that wide receiver Dez Bryant still was considered a cornerstone player for the Dallas Cowboys, a member of the next coming of the offensive “triplets” who were going to help the franchise relive its past Super Bowl glories.
But all of that certainly felt like a long, long time ago Friday, when the Cowboys released Bryant, 29, and moved on from the remainder of a five-year, $70 million contract completed in 2015. He signed the 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 eightyear career.
“As an organization we hold Dez Bryant in the highest regard, and we are grateful for his passion, spirit and contributions to this team for the past eight years,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a written statement released by the team. “He will always be a valued member of our family.
“Dez and I share a personal and professional relationship that is very strong, and he is one of just a handful of players with whom I have become that close to over the past 30 years.”
“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.”
Jones’ statement was more fodder for Bryant, who tweeted, “Key words in this statement.. Several input.. something I already knew.”
Bryant was to have a salary of $12.5 million and was to
count $16.5 million against the Cowboys’ salary cap in the 2018 season if he’d remained with the team. The release clears about $8.5 million in cap space. There had been talk throughout the offseason of the Cowboys either reworking Bryant’s deal or moving on. By the time Bryant was to meet Friday with team officials, including Jones, it seemed clear that a parting was inevitable.
Bryant turns 30 in November, and he has struggled with injuries.
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, according to sportradar.
After getting 56 of his touchdowns in his first five seasons, Bryant had 17 his last three with the Cowboys.
Bryant never found the same on-field rapport with Dak Prescott that he had with Tony Romo, who lost his job during Prescott’s remarkable rookie season after Romo injured his back in the preseason in 2016. Romo was released last offseason and retired.
“Cowboy nation I need you to know this wasn’t my decision.. I will always love y’all… forever Dallas in my heart,” Bryant wrote in one post, which came only minutes after he tweeted, “let’s start the process” in a reference to free agency.
Bryant and Jones had a unique relationship because of the trouble that surrounded the receiver early in his career. Off-field concerns were the reason the Cowboys got him; he slid to near the bottom of the first round of the 2010 draft. Dallas traded up three spots to get him.
Before the three most prolific seasons of his career, when Bryant averaged 1,312 yards and nearly 14 touchdowns per year, he got tangled in lawsuits over unpaid jewelry bills and had a baggy pants incident with police at an upscale Dallas mall.
The most serious problem was a domestic incident involving his mother in 2012, with Bryant pleading guilty and eventually having the charge dismissed when he stayed out of trouble for a year.
Bryant also 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.
When Jones was about to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer, Bryant spoke admiringly of his boss. He talked about Jones showing faith in him and encouraging him at times during his career when others didn’t. Would that bond be strong enough to keep Bryant with the Cowboys when all else seemed to be working against it? Apparently not. The Cowboys already had begun to rework their wide receiver corps this offseason, signing Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson as free agents. There likely will be another significant addition during the draft.
It was only two seasons ago that Bryant, in tandem with quarterback Dak Prescott and tailback Ezekiel Elliott, seemed capable of getting the Cowboys back to a Super Bowl. With Prescott and Elliott becoming immediate standouts as rookies, the Cowboys entered the playoffs as the NFC’s top seed. The team’s followers had visions of the Super Bowl greatness of quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and wide receiver Michael Irvin finally being recaptured.
But that 2016 season ended with bitter disappointment for the Cowboys with a narrow loss at home to the Green Bay Packers in an NFC divisional round. The high hopes of last season came undone in part because of Elliott’s six-game suspension under the personal conduct policy, imposed by the league after it prevailed in a courtroom tussle with the NFL Players Association that lasted half the season.
The Cowboys now must hope Elliott remains on the field with Prescott this coming season and the two return to their rookieyear exploits.
But if they’re going to get the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl, it will be without Bryant there to help.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.