Dez Bryant says now he would have taken a pay cut to stay

There’s been a lot said about Dez Bryant being released by the Dallas Cowboys today.

Before Friday morning it seemed like there were two options for Dez Bryant. He was either going to be released (he was) or asked to take a pay cut; however, ESPN’s Todd Archer reported that he wasn’t even offered one.

This immediately called into question why the Cowboys had waited this long to cut Dez if they didn’t plan on offering him a pay cut. It’s certainly a good question, people wondered what would have happened if they had. According to a new interview coming up on the NFL Network, Dez says he would’ve accepted it.

Could it be true that the Cowboys were a hypothetical question away from keeping the franchise’s all-time leader in receiving touchdowns? For what it’s worth, Dez is kind of contradicting himself.

Back in December, Dez Bryant was asked about potentially taking a pay cut this offseason. He initially gave the idea some thought, but then he shut it down.

“I haven’t heard no talks about that, but if it comes -- well, I don’t know,” Bryant said on taking a pay cut, before adding: “Probably not. Hell, no, man. I believe in me.”

Perhaps now Dez is speaking emotionally, today is an emotional day after all. Or maybe he really changed his mind and means that he would’ve taken a pay cut.

We’ll never know what would have exactly happened had the Cowboys offered a pay cut, since they didn’t. Dez may have been willing to negotiate as he says now, or he could be just saying it now that the moment is past.