Does Dez Bryant deserve another chance with the Cowboys?

p1_

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By Calvin Watkins 1h ago 5

It​ was​ late​ one spring night​ when Cowboys​ Executive​ Vice President​ Stephen Jones and his father, team owner, General​​ Manager and face of the franchise Jerry Jones summoned Terrell Owens to a South Florida restaurant for a chat.

Owens was told the Cowboys were letting him go after three seasons and 47 total games. Owens was stunned. He was near tears. He couldn’t believe it.

The conspiracy theories had Jason Witten and Tony Romo conspiring to get rid of Owens.

In truth, Stephen Jones realized the Cowboys needed to move forward without Owens and didn’t want to stunt Romo’s continuing development as a leader.

That was 2009.

On April 13 of this year, Jerry Jones requested a meeting with another capricious but talented wide receiver in Dez Bryant.

Jerry didn’t need his son for this meeting. Instead, the owner informed Bryant he was getting cut.

An emotional Bryant spoke to the NFL Network after speeding out of The Star, trying to hide the hurt of being cut by the only NFL team he’d ever played for.

Bryant turned to social media to explain what went down. He said the Cowboys didn’t offer him a pay cut, and that he would have taken one. It was a sharp reversal, considering Bryant had told reporters he wouldn’t take one mere months earlier.

Now, weeks after his dismissal from the Cowboys, some fans want him back – and they’re not alone. Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith tweeted he had a dream Bryant was returning.

One Cowboys official told The Athletic it’s doubtful the team brings Bryant back. But in that unlikely event, let’s look at the realistic pros and cons of Bryant coming home.

PROS:

He’s humbled and it won’t cost much to bring him back

Being out of work humbles a person and makes them realize how much money is being lost just by watching practices and games. Bryant has never been a quiet, humble type of person. This experience could force him to temper his attitude. His passion is always expected, but sometimes the Cowboys would like for him to tone it down.

Bryant would also come cheap. He was supposed to earn a base salary of $12.5 million in 2018 from the Cowboys. After getting cut, the best deal he received on the open market was a two-year deal from the Ravens. He turned it down, seeking a one-year incentive-laden contract. Bryant wants to prove so much to so many people, especially to the Cowboys, which explains why he wanted the Giants to sign him. With Bryant out of work for this long, it allows him to reach back and say, “I’ll sign for a one-year deal for half of what I was going to make.”

Dallas could sign Bryant for a one-year, $6 million deal. If the Cowboys bring him back, Seattle’s deal with Brandon Marshall is a good starting point. He signed a one-year deal for a base salary of $1.1 million with a $90,000 signing bonus. He also gets a little more than $1 million in incentives. Bryant probably wants more. He may seek a two-year deal with the Cowboys, considering he and the team are more familiar with each other. To protect themselves, the Cowboys would get out of it following the 2018 season in similar fashion to the deal Baltimore set up with Michael Crabtree.

Crabtree signed a three-year, $21 million deal but the Ravens can get out of the deal by letting him go by the fifth day of the league year in 2019. If Crabtree doesn’t reach any of his incentives in 2018, the Ravens wouldn’t owe him more than $8 million

Sanjay Lal

The man don’t play. Previous wide receivers coach Derek Dooley was regarded as an average receivers coach and was let go after the 2017 season. Route running, never one of Bryant’s strongest attributes, regressed under Dooley. Bryant didn’t respect Dooley enough and would speak with former WR coach Ray Sherman from time to time for advice. Lal is considered one of the better wide receiver coaches in the NFL and commands respect. The coach focuses on route running and the technique behind it and has a proven track record of success. Bryant said he wants to improve in this area. If he’s humbled, which he would have to be, he will learn from Lal and do everything he says.

Of course, Bryant is a little behind, having missed out on the offseason practices and such. But once he gets to camp, Lal will make Bryant better and push him to places Dooley didn’t.



CONS:

It’s time to move on

Let’s be honest with ourselves here; Bryant was the right pick at the right time for the Cowboys in 2010, but even then his on-the-field antics and rumors of other outside issues wore on the front office and coaching staff. Bryant, 29, should still be in his prime. Injuries sapped some of his athleticism, but he should also be more polished in route running, locker room presence and overall sense of self on the team. He wasn’t, and that’s disappointing. The Cowboys drafted Michael Gallup in the third round and one of his strongest skill sets is his route running. Dane Brugler of NFL Draft Scout writes of Gallup: “Detailed route-runner and each step has a purpose. Comfortable with a diverse route tree.”

Does that sound like Bryant?

By the way, our own Jeff Cavanaugh believes Gallup will be the Cowboys’ best receiver by the end of the coming season. For much more on the rookie, read his article.

He’s no longer elite

No team has elite players at every position. Due to the complexity of the draft and the limits of the salary cap, it just doesn’t happen. The Cowboys have three elite offensive linemen and that is rare. They have an elite pass-rusher who will get paid big money at some point. But beyond those four, things are a little less certain. They don’t have an elite tight end, wide receiver, right tackle, linebacker, corner, safety or defensive tackle. The quarterback and running back probably are not there yet – though it’s easy to argue for Ezekiel Elliott. When you have elite players, you pay them as such.

That was the case with Bryant.

For a three-year stretch from 2012-2014, he was an elite player, even catching an NFL-leading 16 touchdowns in 2014. But over the next three seasons, his health declined – and when he was healthy, he didn’t make enough big plays. His catch rate went from 64.7 percent in 2014 to 52.3 percent last season.

It’s a dramatic drop in production and with Dak Prescott developing as a quarterback he requires dependable receivers. Bryant isn’t dependable anymore.

Maybe he will be more productive with another team. Maybe. But not with the Cowboys.
 

Cotton

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There is no way I bring him back. You think he was disruptive before. He would be ten times as bad now.
 

Bluestar71

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Whether they were right or wrong the team decided they don't want Dez at any price. Having made that decision it's kind of stupid to even broach the question of bringing him back a couple of months later.
 

Genghis Khan

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Whether they were right or wrong the team decided they don't want Dez at any price. Having made that decision it's kind of stupid to even broach the question of bringing him back a couple of months later.
Exactly how I feel.
 

p1_

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Whether they were right or wrong the team decided they don't want Dez at any price. Having made that decision it's kind of stupid to even broach the question of bringing him back a couple of months later.
I don't think anyone considered Dez would still be available at this point.
 

Rev

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Bridge was burned long ago.
 

bbgun

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I have a better chance of being welcomed back at the Zone.
 

vince

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Nope. We're moving on. It's practically a whole new team now and I think the Cowboys want that.
 

L.T. Fan

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Dez is just one of many that couldn’t handle a big payday and come to the line again to produce up to the contract. Windfalls for players are indeed their pitfall a lot of the times.
 

Angrymesscan

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I don’t think the money did Dez in, simply his body isn’t the same and his game was never about the mental aspect.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I don’t think the money did Dez in, simply his body isn’t the same and his game was never about the mental aspect.
His game was built around a lot of contact. The hits took their toll on him. It's unfortunate but it happens with some players. It's just not easy to predict a shelf life for a guy. I think his has expired.
 

skidadl

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Dez was always a limited by not being a precise route runner. He overcame it by playing with heart and athleticism. Once that diminished he couldn't fall back on those things.
 

Genghis Khan

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Again, Dez's numbers went down - off a cliff -when he was 27.

27.

It's not mileage or contact taking a toll or his skills diminishing or age.
 

data

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I’ll say this much, there’s a lot of angst building up this offseason.

If we don’t play well in the season opener’s 1st half, someone’s getting banned.
 

DLK150

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No way in hell Dez is brought back, both sides burned that bridge down. This sort of drivel is just offseason clickbait.
 

Cotton

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I’ll say this much, there’s a lot of angst building up this offseason.

If we don’t play well in the season opener’s 1st half, someone’s getting banned.
:unsure
 

Cowboysrock55

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Again, Dez's numbers went down - off a cliff -when he was 27.

27.

It's not mileage or contact taking a toll or his skills diminishing or age.
Every body ages differently. And NFL players age far differently then the average person. If a RB falls off at 27 from taking too many hits it is expected. But injuries take a big part in that and Dez has had his fair share.
 
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