I think most Cowboys fans assumed it, but Jerry Jones has now confirmed it: Dez Bryant will not play on Thursday. Jerry told a group at the Kickoff Luncheon the news, but added that it was just more than the injury.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said before Wednesday's Kickoff Luncheon at Cowboys Stadium that Bryant will not play Thursday against Miami in part because the first-team offense will not play.
That's an interesting spin. I don't think that Jerry means Dez will be a starter at WR, that position still belongs to the much-maligned Roy Williams. But it's interesting in respect to Patrick Crayton. Since you can kind of assume the third WR in the offense is a part-time first-teamer, was Jerry dropping a hint that Dez is ahead of Crayton on the depth chart? Then again, maybe this all over-speculation on my part.
Whatever the case, the Cowboys have made the smart move by ruling Dez out. Let that ankle heal as much as possible, then have him ready to whip the 'Skins in the opening game.
While the Cowboys will be resting their starters for the pre-season game against the Dolphins on Thursday, Miami will not be doing the same. This could lead to another lopsided game. From The Phinsider, SB Nation's Dolphins blog, we get the news via a quote from head coach Tony Sporano.
"I have no idea how much the starters will play. That’s not up to me – that’s up to them. We’re going to go out there and play until either I’m satisfied with what I’ve seen, or I feel like we’ve gotten the amount of work that I have scheduled for them right now in my head."