Dez Bryant - Pro Football Rumors

Cowboys, Dez Bryant To Meet On Friday

April 11th, 2018 at 2:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Finally, the Cowboys’ saga with Dez Bryant could be coming to a close. The two parties are set to meet on Friday, a source tells 105.3 The Fan. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) has confirmed the news.

Bryant is slated to earn a base salary of $12.5MM this season, which is more than they are comfortable with given his performance as of late. Ideally, Dallas would like to keep him at a smaller number, but they can afford to walk from negotiations after adding both Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson this offseason. The Cowboys also have have Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley on the roster and the team could further bolster the group in the draft.

If Bryant doesn’t agree to the Cowboys’ revised offer, he’ll find a ripe market for his services. However, Bryant is unlikely to command anything close to the five-year, $70MM extension he signed with the Cowboys prior to the 2016 season. The 29-year-old hasn’t topped 1,000 yards since the 2014 season and last year marked the first season that Bryant was able to stay healthy for all 16 games since ’14. Also, many of the teams that were in search of an impact wide receiver in March have already found their answers in free agency.

NFC East Rumors: Cowboys, Giants, Guice

April 8th, 2018 at 9:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dez Bryant remains on the Cowboys‘ roster, but a decision about his contract could come soon. Jason Garrett said Sunday night he has not yet met with Bryant and doesn’t know if Jerry Jones has either this offseason, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. While Garrett was concise in his Bryant response, Williams writes that a Bryant decision — one that recently was said to lack a clear timetable — sounds like it’s coming soon. Garrett wants this resolved quickly, per Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).

“I have not met with Dez,” Garrett said at an event earlier tonight. “Dez is on our football team, and again, we talked about some of the moves we made at the receiver position, and they’re designed to create competition there. We think that’s going to help everybody on our team.”

Obviously not a firm commitment to the player that’s been the team’s No. 1 wide receiver for most of this decade, the Cowboys are hesitant about paying Bryant $12.5MM in base salary this season. He’s due to count $16.5MM toward Dallas’ cap. The Cowboys added both Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson this offseason and have Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley on the roster as well. Jones indicated the draft is also a possibility, and Williams writes the Cowboys have shown interest in Calvin Ridley and SMU’s Courtland Sutton. Each was on the team’s pre-draft visit list, as was Maryland’s D.J. Moore. The Cowboys are scheduled to convene for their offseason program April 16.

Here’s more out of Dallas and the latest from elsewhere in the NFC East.

La’el Collins changed positions during the 2017 offseason, and it looks like the Cowboys aren’t going to shift him away from him second NFL spot just yet. But the team did sign Cameron Fleming this offseason. Collins said Sunday night, via Hill (on Twitter) he will remain at right tackle. While adding the caveat that he would move back to guard if the team wanted him to, in a possible best-five-linemen scenario where he returns to left guard and Fleming takes his right tackle spot, his focus heading into his fourth season will be improving as a tackle.
Saquon Barkley and Baker Mayfield dined with Giants brass on Sunday night and both will spend Monday meeting with the team’s coaching staff and front office personnel, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. Both the Penn State running back and Oklahoma quarterback are among a high-profile contingent traveling to the Big Apple, joining Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen in that regard. Schwartz no longer expects the team to draft a quarterback at No. 2, which would put Barkley and Bradley Chubb in play there. A trade-down scenario for Quenton Nelson may also be under consideration.
Odell Beckham Jr. taking the step of pledging he’ll attend Day 1 of the Giants’ offseason program is important for the parties’ potential long-term agreement, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv writes. But Vacchiano adds Beckham’s gesture may be a symbolic one, with the superstar wideout possibly opting to work out in Los Angeles soon. He’s still recovering from a fractured ankle and remains without a timetable for a field return.
The Redskins like Derrius Guice, Rich Tandler of NBC Sports Washington notes, but Jay Gruden was somewhat dismissive of an early-round running back choice at the most recent league meetings. However, the fifth-year coach — perhaps in full-smokescreen mode — said he would like to add possibly a between-the-tackles runner this offseason. Like Leonard Fournette before him, Guice (32 receptions while at LSU) qualifies as such. Washington doesn’t hold a third-round pick because of its Alex Smith trade, so the team would have to be fairly serious about a backfield upgrade if it selects a ball-carrier before Draft Saturday. Guice is a projected first-round pick whose only known visit has been with the Ravens.

Cowboys Don’t Have Timeline For Dez Bryant Talks

March 29th, 2018 at 8:39pm CST by Ryan Posner

The Cowboys plan on speaking with wide receiver Dez Bryant regarding a restructuring of his deal. On Wednesday, it was reported that the Cowboys hoped to resolve the issue at some point over the next two weeks.

The team seemed to step back from that notion Thursday.

“We haven’t put that timeline on it,” said Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones during a press conference at the team’s facility, per Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com. “When we get ready on a decision with Dez, we’ll make it.”

Bryant, 29, signed a five-year, $70MM extension with the Cowboys prior to the 2016 season. He’s due to have a cap hit of $16.5MM in 2018. Veteran tight end Jason Witten and center Travis Frederick have already restructured their deals this offseason to create cap space. The team added a pair of wide receivers in free agency as well in Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson.

“We’re going to sit down and we have a lot to talk about,” Jerry Jones said at the press conference. “I don’t want to say or not say anything to imply that Dez won’t be a Dallas Cowboy.”

In related news, the Cowboys have attended the pro days for wide receivers Christian Kirk (Texas A&M), Courtland Sutton (SMU) and Calvin Ridley (Alabama), who are all projected to go in the first two rounds of the upcoming draft. The Cowboys hold the No. 19 overall pick in the upcoming draft.

Latest On Cowboys, Dez Bryant

March 28th, 2018 at 12:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The saga of Dez Bryant‘s contract could be coming to an end soon. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones indicated that he hopes to hammer out a revised deal with the wide receiver by the end of the next, if not this week, Clarence Hill of the Star Telegram writes.

“I think that these two guys that we signed [Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson] and what we might look at in the draft, at any level of the draft, plus what we might get worked out with Dez, gives us a good-looking receiver outlook,” Jerry Jones said.

Jerry Jones has been coy about discussing Bryant’s contractual situation, but vice president Stephen Jones has been public about the need for Bryant to shave his deal a bit. This year, Bryant is slated to carry a $12.5MM base salary with a $16.5MM cap figure. Given the decline in his performance, that is undoubtedly pricey. Bryant hasn’t topped 1,000 yards since the 2014 season and 2017 marked the first year that Bryant was able to stay healthy for all 16 games since that 2014 campaign. Bryant finished out with 69 catches and 838 yards last year, numbers that do not justify his placement as one of the ten highest-paid wide receivers in the game.

Cowboys WR Terrance Williams Recovering From Broken Foot

March 26th, 2018 at 12:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams is recovering from a broken foot that required surgery, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Dallas executive Stephen Jones said Williams’ injury could force him to miss a portion of organized team activities, tweets David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.

While it doesn’t sound as though Williams will miss regular season action, his injury nonetheless adds more intrigue to the Cowboys’ receiving corps. Jones said Dallas’ recent wideout addition Allen Hurns is not expected to replace Dez Bryant, but admitted the club still has not discussed altering Bryant’s contract, per Moore (Twitter link).

Bryant is due a $12.5MM base salary in 2018, and will count for $16.5MM on Dallas’ salary cap. If he’s released, the Cowboys would save $8.5MM but still be on the hook for $8MM in dead money. Dallas could designate the 29-year-old Bryant as a post-June 1 release and in turn save $12.5MM in 2018 space.

Williams, for his part, is likely stuck on Dallas’ roster despite his lack of recent production. The Cowboys would pay more to cut Williams than release him prior to June 1, and they wouldn’t net any savings even if Williams was a post-June release. Williams, 28, has failed to top 600 yards receiving in either of the past two campaigns.

Cowboys Meet With Dez Bryant

March 13th, 2018 at 9:02am CST by Dallas Robinson

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has indeed met with veteran receiver Dez Bryant, but the club has not asked him to accept a pay reduction at this point, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Bryant is due a $12.5MM base salary in 2018, and will count for $16.5MM on Dallas’ salary cap. If he’s released, the Cowboys would save $8.5MM but still be on the hook for $8MM in dead money. Dallas could designate the 29-year-old Bryant as a post-June 1 release and in turn save $12.5MM in 2018 space, but that extra room wouldn’t be available until June. As such, it wouldn’t help the Cowboys sign free agents in March.

Bryant has managed to get into the end zone 14 times over the past two seasons, but he hasn’t topped 1,000 yards since the 2014 season. 2017 also marked the first year that Bryant was able to stay healthy for all 16 games since that 2014 season. Bryant only posted 69 receptions and 838 yards, however, which isn’t in line with a salary that makes him the NFL’s eighth-highest-paid wideout.

Receiver Notes: Landry, Dez, A-Rob, Evans

March 10th, 2018 at 10:06pm CST by Micah Powell

No players have dominated the news more in the last two days than Jarvis Landry and Richard Sherman. On Friday, the Browns kicked off their trading spree by landing the Dolphins wideout in a deal for draft picks. Earlier in the day, Sherman was released from the Seahawks and then signed with the division-rival 49ers Saturday Night.

The two possibly could have been connected on the transaction wire earlier in the 2017 season if a blockbuster deal would have gone through. That’s according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, who tweets that Seattle rejected a potential Landry-for-Sherman swap in 2017.

At the time of the proposed deal, presumably before the trade deadline, Sherman was healthy and the Seahawks were looking to advance to the postseason for the sixth consecutive. Trading away a key member of the secondary and an influential figure in the locker room doesn’t appear to make much sense.

Regardless, it is interesting both teams were looking to move on from their respective stars as early as October.

Here’s more receivers making news:

Before both of those deals went down, Mike Evans grabbed headlines by signing a five-year deal with the Buccaneers worth $82.5 MM. Breaking down the details, CBS Sports’ Joel Corry tweets the Bucs will $5 MM of salary cap space in 2018 and he now takes up $18.25 MM of cap room.
During a chat with the Dallas Morning News on Friday, Matt Mosley said his gut feeling is that Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant will be back in 2018. He said that could change if the team lands a receiver in the first round. Alabama’s Calvin Ridley, among others, could be on the board when the Cowboys pick at No. 19.
Though they didn’t place the franchise tag on him, the Jaguars do in fact like Allen Robinson and would like to have him back at the right price, general manager Dave Caldwell told Pro Football Talk. “At some point in time, just like other free agents, we’ve walked away. We don’t want to do that with Allen because he’s ours. We’ll see. We have a lot of options on the table with that.”

Cowboys Owner Wants To Keep Dez Bryant

March 3rd, 2018 at 6:23pm CST by Zachary Links

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants Dez Bryant to be a member of the Cowboys next offseason (via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Of course, it remains to be seen if Dallas can accomplish that with the wide receiver’s $16.5MM cap hit looming large.

“The reason we don’t discuss contract is that it is implies there is an issue with the contract,” Jones said. “That is not fair to imply that there is anything until we sit down and announce we have done something one way or another. It takes two. It takes him and us to do anything with his contract. I’m going to leave it at that. You have asked me as I sit here do you want him on the team next year, and my answer is yes.”

Jones indicated that the Cowboys will meet with Bryant and/or his reps before free agency starts on March 14. We shouldn’t expect the Cowboys to pitch Bryant on an extension, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Rapoport’s “understanding” is that the Cowboys will ask Bryant to take a pay cut or adjust the contract in some other fashion for the upcoming year. Still, moving on seems like the last resort for the Cowboys, he says.

Bryant is due a $12.5MM base salary this season. If the wide receiver is not amendable to an outright pay cut, the team look for him to slash his base pay with an equal raise in incentives. If Bryant can come close to reprising his 2014 season (88 receptions for 1,320 yards and 16 touchdowns), then he’ll be well worth the money. If he falls closer to his last three seasons (an average of 50 catches for 678 yards and six scores), then the Cowboys will want to pay him appropriately.

Latest On Cowboys WR Dez Bryant

February 28th, 2018 at 3:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cowboys have yet to make a decision on whether veteran wideout Dez Bryant will be with the club in 2018, according to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

“I don’t have a time frame just yet,” said Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones. “Obviously, it’s going to happen sooner than later. … We have to continue to work on our end and see where we are gonna end up on it.”

Bryant is due a $12.5MM base salary in 2018, and will count for $16.5MM on Dallas’ salary cap. If he’s released, the Cowboys would save $8.5MM but still be on the hook for $8MM in dead money. Dallas could designate the 29-year-old Bryant as a post-June 1 release and in turn save $12.5MM in 2018 space, but that extra room wouldn’t be available until June. As such, it wouldn’t help the Cowboys sign free agents in March.

Bryant has managed to get into the end zone 14 times over the past two seasons, but he hasn’t topped 1,000 yards since the 2014 season. 2017 also marked the first year that Bryant was able to stay healthy for all 16 games since that 2014 season. Bryant only posted 69 receptions and 838 yards, however, which isn’t in line with a salary that makes him the NFL’s eighth-highest-paid wideout.

Speaking at the scouting combine today, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett also sidestepped the issue of Bryant’s roster status. “We have a tremendous amount of love for Dez Bryant,” said Garrett, who indicated Dallas has yet to discuss personnel decisions (Twitter link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News). “He’s been a great player for us for a long time.”

Dez Bryant Discusses Contract Situation

February 24th, 2018 at 12:00pm CST by Ben Levine

There have been recent rumblings that the Cowboys could approach Dez Bryant about taking a pay cut. Appearing on the Ben and Skin radio show on 105.3 The Fan, the wideout said the organization hasn’t yet approached him about his contract.

“I just think it’s crazy,” Bryant said (via Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram). “I’ll be straight up honest. I think everything I’ve got, I deserve it. And I can get into way more details with that, but I’ll leave that up to when it’s time for me to sit down and talk with the Joneses – whenever that is.”

After signing a five-year, $75MM deal back in 2015, Bryant is set to earn a $12.5MM base salary next season. He’ll also have a $16.5MM cap hit in 2018, the third-highest mark among wide receivers.

Bryant made it clear that he wants to stick around Dallas, and he admitted that he was frustrated with a lackluster 2017 campaign. The 29-year-old did play in 16 games for the first time since 2014, but he only hauled in 69 receptions for 828 yards (leading to a career-low 12.1 yards per reception) and six touchdowns.

This isn’t the first time Bryant has addressed his contract situation. Back in December, the receiver said he had no interest in taking a pay cut. However, the organization will surely consider the move, and Director of Player Personnel Stephen Jones said those conversations are coming.

“No one wants to compete and get after it more than Dez,” Jones said. “At the same time, we all know this is a business where everybody has to be accountable. Certainly, everybody knows that. That’s a tough one. Certainly, we’re going to be grinding it out and trying to determine what is in the best interest of our business.

“Dez understands this is a business. No one thinks more of Dez Bryant than, starting at the top, Jerry, and certainly me, his teammates, coach [Jason] Garrett, Will McClay. We all have a tremendous amount of respect for Dez. That’s one of the things that we’re going to have to work through as we move into our future.”