Cowboys Voluntary Offseason Workouts Start Today; Dez Bryant, Orlando Scandrick Not Attending

Phase one of the Dallas Cowboys 2015 offseason workouts begins today. Already, stories are circulating about prominent Cowboys that are not in attendance. Dallas usually has close to 100% attendance to these workouts, but every year there is a player or two who do not show up. This year is no different. So when reading these stories, keep in mind most of this is business as usual and that these workouts are voluntary.

Two players are reportedly not showing up today, one of them was known, and the other was a mild surprise.

Dez Bryant will not be working out but that comes as no surprise. He has not signed his franchise tender yet, and without that contract in place he isn't protected from injury. So, as you can imagine, he won't be working out. The Cowboys and Dez will try to work out a long-term deal, but with the confusion in Bryant's camp about representation, it might take a little longer. But, there's nothing to worry about here, Dez will be under contract and working out at some point.

The other prominent non-attendee is raising a few eyebrows. Cornerback Orlando Scandrick is reportedly not present today. Nobody has a firm reason why, but speculations is already starting about his deal, compared to the Cowboys other cornerbacks, and how that might not sit well with Scandrick.

Scandrick, who lives in California, has been the Cowboys’ best cornerback the last few seasons, but he is set to make a base salary of only $1.5 million. That’s significantly less than cornerback Brandon Carr ($8 million base salary in 2015) and cornerback Morris Claiborne ($2.6 million base salary in 2015).

We don't know if that is an issue, or if Scandrick is skipping the workout for other reasons (it is, after all, voluntary). At this point, despite how the media may hype this up, I would view it with a skeptical eye. Let's just wait and see.

And in case you're wondering, Greg Hardy is expected to show up for the workouts. He can do everything with the Cowboys up until the regular season, even after Roger Goodell announces how long his suspension will be. That news could come this week.