It’s been almost two months since the Dallas Cowboys released Dez Bryant.
In spite of this, there has been an awful lot in the news regarding Dez, such is life when you’ve worn the star.
Things ramped up a bit recently when Dez posted on Instagram that the San Francisco 49ers were his team of choice. He deleted the comment and things were walked back entirely when reports surfaced that he wouldn’t sign with a new team until training camp.
True to the nature of being Dez Bryant formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, Dez’s name is back in the news. This time it’s not really his fault, it’s a different former Cowboy causing the raucous.
Deion Sanders recently said on 105.3 The Fan that Dallas should apologize to Dez and bring him back. From NFL.com:
“Let’s just apologize and say, ‘Dez, I’m sorry. I made a mistake. Come on back,’” Sanders said during a Tuesday guest appearance on 105.3 The Fan. “You didn’t know Jason Witten was getting ready to [retire]. You didn’t know this knucklehead [Terrance Williams] was getting ready to do what he did [when he] got out of the car and [ran] out of the Lamborghini. Who leaves the scene of a crime with a Lamborghini? Let bygones be bygones, bring the dude back and let’s move on.”
Deion would later go on to identify with Dez’s situation, noting how he’s been at a bit of a crossroads in his career trying to balance winning and the best contractual deal. It’s great that Deion is looking out for Dez, but this interest doesn’t necessarily line up with the Cowboys interest.
Difficult as it is to accept even two months later, the Cowboys released Dez for a reason. They believe that they’re a better football team in every sense (roster management, salary cap allotment, etc.) without him in their building.
The Cowboys prepared for life beyond Dez. There’s been a lot of discussions about no true “number one receiver” on the team, but they have options for their young franchise quarterback Dak Prescott. Allen Hurns, Deonte Thompson, Michael Gallup, Cedrick Wilson, and Tavon Austin were all acquired just this offseason.
It’s true that Terrance Williams had an unfortunate incident this offseason that has further cast his viability on the team into doubt, but reality is the situation is one hardly worth making a big to-do over. All that being said, the Cowboys might not even move on from Terrance. Our own Danny Phantom made the argument why they shouldn’t.
The best move is to just see how things play out. There is still too much uncertainty with the WR group to be making haste decisions. What if Allen Hurns can’t stay healthy? What if the rookie receivers play like rookie receivers? What if Tavon Austin has the same underachieving production he had with the Rams? There are too many questions and the team would be better served to let some football stuff happen before making a decision. For now, Williams should get a second chance, but with as much competition this team has created on this roster - he better not slip up again.
It would definitely be a story (not sure if “fun” is the right word at this point) if Dez Bryant returned to the Cowboys after all this. It’s simply not one that makes sense, though. Sorry, Prime.