Speaking to the media today, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he intends on wide receiver Dez Bryant being part of the club’s roster in 2018, but wouldn’t comment on a possible pay cut for the mercurial pass-catcher, according to Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Bryant will turn 30 years old during the 2018 campaign, and is coming off a disappointing season in which he managed only 69 receptions, 838 yards, and six touchdowns, the third straight campaign in which Bryant has failed to top 1,000 yards receiving. He’s due a base salary of $12.5MM next year, so while Jones refused to touch the subject of a pay reduction, the topic figures to come up this offseason.
Here’s more from Dallas, with all links going to George’s Twitter account:
- While Bryant’s contract will be on the Cowboys’ docket over the next several months, the team’s “first goal” is to sign defensive end Demarcus Lawrence to a long-term extension, said executive vice president Stephen Jones (link). A multi-year pact is always preferable to the franchise tag from a team’s perspective thanks to the salary cap implications of each contract, but Lawrence holds all the leverage after a posting a 12.5-sack performance in 2017. A one-year franchise tender for the 25-year-old Lawrence will cost the Cowboys nearly $18MM.
- Jerry Jones confirmed reports that the Cowboys have re-signed running backs coach Gary Brown and hired the recently-retired Kellen Moore as the club’s quarterbacks coach (link). Both the Raiders and Texans expressed interest in hiring Brown this offseason, but Dallas had always maintained dialogue with the longtime coach, who joined the Cowboys in 2013. Moore, meanwhile, has a backer in Dallas offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, who has called Moore a “machine” in terms of learning and communicating.
- The Cowboys are closing in on a deal to promote assistant special teams coach Keith O’Quinn to the lead role, per Jones (link). O’Quinn would replace Rich Bisaccia, who left Dallas to become an assistant head coach/special teams with Jon Gruden‘s Raiders. This was one of two possible outcomes, as reports had indicated O’Quinn would either be promoted to the full-time special teams role or take over as the Cowboys’ tight ends coach.
Bryant is hardly a role model and he’s lost a step or two. I won’t forget that he beat his grandmother. He’s a real man.
Really? Beat her? He hit her with his hat.
He didn’t beat her. He hit her with a hat
doesn’t matter either way he is still a spoiled little punk I hope they cut him so he can get humbled cause there ain’t a team in the nfl that will give that head case high dollars to play for them and he won’t play for anything less and that means he won’t play and the game will be better without him a guy like Bryant shouldn’t be in the publics eye do you want your children to act like that punk
Bryant sounds and looks like he’s long it attitude and very short on team unity? If they tell him to take pay cut which in my opinion they should, he won’t and then they can cut him hiding behind saying he refused pay cut
The fact that Kellen Moore goes from being Daks backup to his Quarterback coach is beyond stupid.. Dak needs some guidance and now he’s supposed to get it from a guy who has never even coached pop warner and was in the same meetings hearing all the same crap as him the last few years..
Actually Moore is credited a lot with how he helped Dad in 2016 as he is super smart. QB coach in NFL is more of a confidant to the QB to help them see things that they didn’t. Athletically Moore couldn’t compete but he had the brains, that is why the Cowboys hung on to him for so long hoping his athleticism would match his head. Garrett’s first job was as a QB coach. A position coach is usually most players first stop in coaching.
Autocorrect….Dak, not Dad