Sturm's Morning After – the release of Dez Bryant

Cotton

One-armed Knife Sharpener
Staff member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
119,696
Sturm's Morning After – the release of Dez Bryant
By Bob Sturm Apr 14, 2018

Sometimes we wish to make simple things more complex to help come to terms. You haven't quite felt the pain of a fan-favorite being told to go away in a while. We prefer the teary-eyed standing ovation as he circles the stadium with cheers and adoration in a way that ends the movie properly. He waves one final time and then heads up the runway, no doubt underneath the banners that he helped hang.

Sure. Good movie. It is always better that way.

But, that doesn't happen. Troy Aikman staggered back to the bench after being planted in the turf at Texas Stadium by Lavar Arrington in a rather nondescript third down rollout to his right.

Roger Staubach's last completed pass was to his left guard, Herb Scott. The final incomplete pass hit turf near midfield as the Cowboys lost a playoff game at home to the Rams in 1979.

And that was that. Neither of those Cowboys heroes had much left in the tank and neither would play again – certainly not vowing to make the team pay for turning its back on them (although Troy seemed willing if he could find a taker).

Tony Romo's last play was a meaningless touchdown pass in a meaningless game in Philadelphia to end 2016. Some fans thought it might attract some bidders for his services. CBS was evidently the only organization to bid very hard.

Tony Dorsett was a Bronco. Michael Irvin's time ended with staff unscrewing his facemask on his back in Philadelphia. Emmitt Smith's ended meekly in a Cardinals uniform. DeMarcus Ware walked away after a cold day in Kansas City, wearing a Denver Broncos uniform with a Super Bowl ring in his pocket. Larry Allen's time ended in Cleveland while wearing a 49ers helmet in 2007.

Everyone on this list ultimately had an ending and then they all went into the Ring of Honor, and maybe the Pro Football Hall of Fame (I will assume DeMarcus Ware is automatic on both fronts).

Dez Bryant may someday go in the Cowboys Ring of Honor and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He likely has plenty of work to do on the latter, but the former might already be in the books if the owner has a say in the matter when his career is fully done.

His final catch in a Cowboys uniform is here:



A rather typical quick out to him in space where he moves the chain with 5 minutes to play in a Week 17 affair in Philadelphia that the Cowboys would win 6-0. Little did we know.

But, the real exit was yesterday from the Star in Frisco. Dez will have a chance to validate the legions of fans who are certain he was given a raw deal when the Cowboy surprised me and cut the cord with the face of their franchise. But his career in Dallas – 8 years, 7,459 yards, and 73 Touchdowns later – is over.

And he has vowed to make the franchise pay for this.

I have already broken down everything there is to break down about where he is in his career at the moment. He is a player in decline and the decline may be steep – depending on how hard you squint to imagine a scenario where he can channel 2014 again. That said, I still thought it was dangerous to say goodbye already. I expected a modification of his paycheck, which was absurdly excessive given his production over three seasons. I expected there was a price where they could compromise and perhaps a role change that would suit his present skillset.



Instead, it appears the decision was to simply sever ties altogether. Evidently, there wasn't a price that would keep player and team together for 2018 – which was foreshadowed last summer when the Cowboys decided, after careful deliberation, not to restructure his contract at all. They did not wish to move his money back to future years. They were terrified about his production in 2015 and 2016, and if 2017 was not a clear rebound year, they would be free to say goodbye.

But, as we sit here at this juncture of the offseason – over a month since the start of free agency and the new league year, I remain befuddled as to their motivation. What took so long? If their decision was to release him and not to try to convince him to reduce his check, then the reasons for delaying his release come down to two logical possibilities:

– The team had to find his replacement
– The coaches and front office staff needed to convince the big boss to listen.

The top point makes sense but suggests that even if they did not find his replacement – presumably Allen Hurns now, but surely Sammy Watkins earlier in the spring – then Dez would still be on the Cowboys roster. It is a real stretch to say that Hurns is the Dez Bryant that they made the contract with, but it is not a stretch to say that Hurns may be a more productive WR than Bryant in 2018-19 at 34% of the price.

So let's move on to the second possibility – that it took until April 13th to convince Jerry Jones of this front office decision (some combination of Stephen Jones, Will McClay, Jason Garrett, Scott Linehan) to attempt some addition by subtraction. None of us have any idea how much he is part of the solution or the problem in this post-Romo era.

It must certainly be frustrating for Bryant to have had things one way in his entire career, during that point being considered one of the very best players in the entire sport – only to have that turn on one shattered collarbone to his QB, and spend the rest of his prime playing in a different setting with people assuming much of it is his fault. Now, how is that frustration channeled? Is it done in a positive sense where he becomes more determined and more committed to bringing along young players as he himself transitions from a young player to an old one?

Or, do the coaches and players on this team that have dealt with him for years feel like he is a pain to deal with when things aren't to his liking? Dez has singled out the “captains” as those who either helped write his ticket out of town or at least didn't pound the table to defend him. That would support the theory that the leadership group in this organization had real questions about his understanding of what is asked and demanded of the biggest earners and most influential role models on the squad. If a coaching staff and leadership group believe that they must set the tone, you can understand the frustration from their end that Dez still does many of the things that were annoying but worth it when Tony could keep him in line in the huddle. Now a young QB is trying to figure out the NFL and some members of the offensive brain trust think that the Dez Bryant experience can be counterproductive?

Again, we are trying to gain clarity and we will never fully get it, but if I am reading things correctly, it sounds – partially because Stephen Jones has said it publicly – that Dez and his hair-trigger temper is just causing one more obstacle for an offense that does not need more obstacles.

Is he part of the solution or part of the problem? And at $16m a year, should that question ever have to be asked?

The explanations are hard to find. Many want someone to blame for this. Some are reaching so hard they want to blame Dak Prescott for not fighting for the employment of his WR. This is categorically absurd. Sorry, but a two-year QB who is making nothing and trying to validate his own place in the franchise (and who just struggled mightily down the stretch) is not going to go turn over a desk in Garrett's office to save a guy who's made $50 million. He is trying to prove he belongs and going to the mat for a receiver who was a Cowboy darling when he was still in High School doesn't make sense. Give me a break. Dak might have been asked for his opinion and might have given it, but, don't cope with your sadness by trying to blame a QB who has little-to-no say on these huge decisions. He isn't Tony Romo and he doesn't have the authority he did, either.

It is highly possible the last decade or two of Cowboys insanity has made a lot of people half-insane themselves and, leaving them willing to believe any theory to help cope.

Regardless, the logical reasons to actually hold on to Dez for two extra months are very few. If you are sick of him, fine. Cut him as soon as the Super Bowl ends. And honestly, if you wish to say goodbye to him without consideration of a pay cut, holding on to him until the last possible day before team workouts feels a bit vindictive. And, based on how Dez responded on Friday, he seems to think so, too. By the way, his position is logical. Look at the multitude of players around the league who had their say on Twitter and remarked how the Cowboys are certainly not treating him with a whole lot of class.

The Cowboys may have the honest excuse that Jerry needed convincing (or the slightly dishonest one that they have been trying to get his pay-cut accepted for weeks or months through back channels), but it shouldn't take over 100 days since the team's last game.



Before we place all the blame on the Cowboys for this ridiculous delay in cutting him, it's worth advising Dez to yell at his agent for not writing a deal that included some start-of-league-year triggers, forcing a team to make decisions in a timely manner beneficial for the player. If Dez had a deal that included his salary would guarantee by March 1 or March 15, I can promise you they would have figured this out long ago. Oversight on a small detail from the agent back in 2015 when everything was warm and fuzzy clearly came back to haunt Bryant.

Regardless, the Cowboys did something I didn't think they should do or would do. They said goodbye to Dez Bryant when you could certainly argue it is a year early rather than a year late. To do that when the offense was so clearly a weakness last year speaks volumes. They plan to redesign everything that the passing game has to offer. Their solutions may not match up with the jersey you bought and wear proudly, but they clearly think that a more balanced receiver group built more around an RPO-based offense that will employ plenty more between the numbers (see Allen Hurns and possibly Calvin Ridley or DJ Moore) might be a more efficient (and cheaper) way to build this.

Then, with that money, do they get back in the game for Earl Thomas or add more resources to the defense? Perhaps even consider a long-term solution for Demarcus Lawrence?

The NFL deals with this sort of thing in one city or another nearly every year. A very influential fan favorite is shown the door – or leaves on his own – and the world assumes they will suffer horribly from his exit.

In 2006, Tiki Barber had over 2,100 yards of total offense for the New York Giants and then announced his retirement. Many assumed the Giants would have no way to replace that production. How would they? He was top 5 in the NFL. Well, they won the Super Bowl the very next season.

On March 13, 2014, the Carolina Panthers cut Steve Smith because they determined their vocal leader and face of the franchise and reached his expiration date and was no longer worth the hassle. Almost everyone thought they were making a big mistake and would regret it. They had to wait a year, but Carolina won the NFC easily in 2015 and played in Super Bowl 50 without Smith.

The point is that while I disagreed with their decision to cut bait altogether on Dez Bryant, I cannot deny the fact that teams are able to field teams after icons leave and sometimes, they actually get better and find out that everyone can do more than they were when they were built around that one guy. A few even end up in a Super Bowl. It is really hard on the fans and the city, but a football organization is built to replace players because that is the simple nature of the sport.

He is not the player he once was. They think they can take the resources dedicated to him and do just as well, maybe even re-reallocate and improve.

You and I have our significant doubts.

Now, they will try to solve their new problem with the draft coming to their town. We assumed Dez Bryant would be part of that celebration.

We assumed wrong.
 
Top Bottom