1:45pm: Assuming Bryant and the Cowboys finalize a contract, it’ll be for five years, tweets Todd Archer of ESPN.com.
1:37pm: Bryant is headed to the Cowboys’ facility now, in hopes of putting the finishing touches on an extension, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links). There are still some minor points to work out, but there’s a sense it’ll get done, according to Schefter and Rapoport, who tweets that the two sides are finalizing a deal.
1:11pm: The Cowboys are moving closer to getting a long-term extension done with Dez Bryant, a source tells David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. Nothing has been agreed upon yet, and the two sides have less than two hours to finalize a deal, but everyone appears optimistic that it’ll get done, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Earlier today, we heard that the Cowboys had increased their offer to Bryant, going north of $13MM per year. However, that proposal was viewed by Bryant’s camp as “still not great,” according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Based on recent reports from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report and others, it sounds as if Bryant may be anxious to get a multiyear pact done today, rather than waiting until after the season to resume negotiations. If that’s the case, then the star wideout may ultimately elect to accept the best offer on the table, even if his representatives would prefer that he hold out for more.
If the two sides don’t strike a deal by 3:00pm central time, Bryant would have to play on a one-year contract in 2015, if he plays at all. He has threatened to miss training camp, the preseason, and even regular season games if he doesn’t get a long-term extension today.