Dez Bryant - Pro Football Rumors

Latest On Cowboys’ Dez Bryant

October 2nd, 2016 at 9:36am CST by Dallas Robinson

While initial reports indicated that Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant had been diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his knee, a source who has seen Bryant’s MRI said the pass-catcher has a bone bruise, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). As such, Bryant is expected to miss less than three weeks while dealing with the injury.

Bryant reportedly missed an MRI exam and team meetings on Monday and Tuesday because he feared the worst with his injured right knee, but per Rapoport, the ailment doesn’t present any long-term risk. Bryant’s decision to skip his duties opened him up to team-imposed fines, though there’s no word on whether the Cowboys will discipline him.

So far this year, Bryant has 11 receptions for 150 yards and one touchdown to his credit. Last season, Bryant saw career-lows across the board as he caught 31 balls for 401 yards and three touchdowns.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Dez Bryant

September 29th, 2016 at 5:48pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant missed an MRI exam and team meetings on Monday and Tuesday because he feared the worst with his injured right knee, head coach Jason Garrett revealed Wednesday (via Marc Sessler of NFL.com).

“He’s a very passionate guy, like we’ve talked about, and he really thought he was going to get some bad news when he got the MRI on Monday,” said Garrett. “Like some of us do in life, at times, he avoided it and didn’t come in to take care of his business on Monday or Tuesday. Then he came in on Wednesday and took care of that part of it (the MRI). We got the information. He suspected it was worse than the information that we got.”

Bryant’s decision to skip Monday and Tuesday opened him up to team-imposed fines, though there’s no word on whether the Cowboys will discipline him.

For his part, Bryant added in a tweet (sic), “I made a poor decision based on how I felt about my knee coach JG addressed it to me and I understood the consequences.”

Upon returning to the club Wednesday, Bryant underwent an MRI, as Garrett mentioned, and received the news of a hairline fracture. There’s a chance Bryant will be able to play against the 49ers on Sunday, but he could also miss multiple weeks. Bryant tweeted Thursday that his status is “day to day” and said he received “great feedback” on his knee from Dr. James Andrews.

Dallas played much of last season without either Bryant or quarterback Tony Romo and stumbled to a 4-12 record. The Cowboys are already halfway to matching that win total through three weeks, but they’ve gotten there without Romo. The back injury the veteran suffered during the preseason opened the door for fourth-round rookie Dak Prescott, who has held his own thus far. Still, the Prescott-led Cowboys obviously don’t want to go without their most accomplished wideout, Bryant, who has picked up 11 receptions, 150 yards and a touchdown this season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Bryant, Cowboys, Gregory, Brady

September 29th, 2016 at 9:04am CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at news from the AFC and NFC East:

Dez Bryant didn’t get an MRI on his knee until Wednesday because he was absent from Monday’s treatment for injured players and Tuesday’s meetings with the Cowboys, sources tell Todd Archer of ESPN.com. The reason for Bryant’s two-day absence is not immediately clear. The wide receiver has not been formally ruled out of Sunday’s game against San Francisco, but the hairline fracture on his knee could sideline him for up to three weeks.
Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory is out of rehab in Massachusetts, but he’s still receiving and will continue to receive regular treatment in Dallas, according to a league source who spoke with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Meanwhile, those who know the defensive end say he has been clean for over four months and is doing as well as he has in recent memory. Gregory, they say, has been getting his personal life together and is working hard to get back towards football shape.
The Patriots have to drop two players from the roster in order to make room for Tom Brady and Rob Ninkovich, and Doug Kyed of NESN.com suggests a handful of candidates. Linebacker Elandon Roberts and tight end A.J. Derby are candidates to be waived and put on the practice squad. Kyed also suggests that New England can get creative by placing quarterback Jacoby Brissett and/or cornerback Eric Rowe on injured reserve even though their conditions are far from season-enders. An added benefit to putting Rowe on IR is that the Pats would decrease their chances of having to give up a third-round pick to Philadelphia instead of a fourth-rounder.

Dez Bryant Unlikely To Play Sunday?

September 29th, 2016 at 7:01am CST by Zachary Links

Dez Bryant appears to be a “longshot” to play on Sunday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Cowboys are hoping there is minimal risk for Bryant to play on Sunday, but they are also aware of the possibility it becomes a 3-week injury (Twitter link).

Bryant was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his knee this week. With an injury like that, there is much more for the Cowboys and the star wide receiver to consider than pain management. If there is a chance that Bryant could make the fracture worse, then it would stand to reason that Dallas would rest its top offensive weapon for at least a week.

So far this year, Bryant has 11 receptions for 150 yards and one touchdown to his credit. Last season, Bryant saw career-lows across the board as he caught 31 balls for 401 yards and three touchdowns.

The Cowboys travel to San Francisco on Sunday to take on the Niners. After that, they have a home contest against the Bengals followed by a Week 6 road contest against the Packers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dez Bryant Has Hairline Fracture In Knee

September 28th, 2016 at 2:30pm CST by Zachary Links

2:30pm: There’s a chance Bryant could play Sunday but he might also miss the next two or three games, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter).

1:57pm: Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant has a hairline fracture in his knee, coach Jason Garrett told reporters on a conference call (including Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group on Twitter). Garrett referred to the injury as a “day by day” or “week by week thing,” meaning that we won’t have an exact timetable on the wide receiver’s recovery. Still, the Cowboys are hopeful that he can suit up against the Niners on Sunday.

Bryant is no stranger to the injury bug. Last year, Bryant had his season derailed by foot and ankle injuries. Those issues limited him to the worst numbers of his career — in nine games, he caught just 31 balls for 401 yards and three touchdowns, all career lows. In late December, Bryant was placed on season-ending IR. Fortunately, this injury does not appear to be anywhere near as severe. If team doctors give Bryant the green light, he may try to play through the pain this weekend.

Bryant, 28 in November, has caught 11 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown through three games this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC East Notes: Redskins, Cousins, Cowboys

July 19th, 2016 at 4:55pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Although the Redskins didn’t extend franchise-tagged quarterback Kirk Cousins‘ contract by last Friday’s deadline, general manager Scot McCloughan told SiriusXM Bleacher Report Radio on Sunday that he hopes the 27-year-old is under center in Washington “for a long time going forward” (link via Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post).

McCloughan also elaborated on why he didn’t lock up Cousins, saying, “It’s the market. The NFL’s a phenomenal, phenomenal entity, and the money’s incredible. But the way I look at it is I want Kirk in a long-term deal, no doubt about it, but also I’m not gonna put our franchise in a situation where we’re gonna lose three or four younger guys that I think are gonna be good football players for one guy.”

With another strong campaign, Cousins will again put the Redskins in position to decide whether to tag or extend him next offseason. In the meantime, he’s set to pace all quarterbacks in 2016 base salary ($19.95MM), and that number will increase to $23.94MM in 2017 if the Redskins tag him for a second straight year. Prior to this summer’s extension deadline for tag recipients, Washington was only willing to pay Cousins $16MM per year and a total of $24MM in guarantees on a long-term deal.

Now for the latest on Washington’s fiercest rival:

In assessing the Cowboys’ 2016 outlook, owner Jerry Jones told NFL Network (video link), “We like what we’ve got offensively. Defensively now, we’ve got some challenges.” Jones went on to acknowledge that, given their defensive limitations, the Cowboys will need to control the ball in order to achieve optimum results. PFR recently echoed a similar sentiment in its offseason review of the Cowboys, who are positioned well on offense with Tony Romo and Dez Bryant returning from 2015 injuries, first-round running back Ezekiel Elliott joining the fold, and an elite line set to aid their skill players. On the other side of the ball, a defense that was below average last year didn’t do much to improve via free agency and the draft and will be without three important front seven members – Demarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory and Rolando McClain – to begin the season because of suspensions. While Lawrence and Gregory will sit four games apiece, Dallas won’t have McClain in the middle of its linebacker corps for 10. In response, the club brought back free agent Justin Durant, who was a Cowboy from 2013-14, on Monday.
Speaking of Bryant, the Cowboys wideout filed a lawsuit Monday against his former advisor, State. Sen Royce West, writes Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In the suit, Bryant accuses West of using him to “improperly line his own pockets and those of his business associates” and, along with fellow ex-advisor David Wells, take $300K from him. West called Bryant’s claims “lies and frivolous” and will file a defamation lawsuit against Bryant and attorney Kenneth Broughton, per Hill. West already filed suit against Bryant last month seeking up to $200K in damages from destruction the receiver allegedly caused while leasing a home from West. “Mr. Bryant needs to take responsibility for the damage done to my house and not attempt to avert focus away from his actions by making incredulous accusations against me,” said West.
In case you missed it, Bryant officially left previous agency CAA on Monday and will use Jay-Z’s organization, Roc Nation, as representation.

NFC East Notes: McClain, Dez, Redskins, Cruz

July 18th, 2016 at 7:35pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Lending credence to a report that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is one of the few voices in the Dallas office that doesn’t want to release troubled linebacker Rolando McClain, Jones today expressed support for McClain and seemed to indicate the club wouldn’t part ways any time soon. “There’s a lot of reasons why we don’t cut him: cap, many reasons,” said Jones, according to Nick Shook of NFL.com. “But the bottom line is, I’d like to be positive about this and think that we haven’t seen the last of Rolando McClain.” So while financial concerns still appear to be at play — a notion that Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram corroborates (Twitter link) — it sounds like Jones still has a belief that McClain will be able to contribute on the field later in the season.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

Almost two years after teaming with Roc Nation, Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant has left CAA and agent Tom Condon to be represented solely by Jay-Z’s organization, according to Liz Muller of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link). The switch doesn’t figure to have many implications currently, as Dallas has Bryant locked up for years to come. After being assigned the franchise tag last prior to last season, Bryant agreed to a five-year, $70 extension that will keep him with the Cowboys through 2019.
A few unheralded players figure to make the Redskins‘ 53-man roster, and Rich Tandler of CSNMidAtlantic.com points to running back Robert Kelly as one surprising option that could make waves this summer. As Roster Resource shows, Washington doesn’t have much depth behind starter Matt Jones, as third-down back Chris Thompson is recovering from shoulder surgery, while Keith Marshall, Mack Brown, and Kelly have no NFL experience. Tandler’s colleague Tarik El-Bashir, meanwhile, identifies tight end Marcel Jensen as someone who could unseat veteran Logan Paulsen for the club’s fourth tight end position.
Even if he’s able to fully recover from his torn patellar tendon, Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz is unlikely to have much of an impact in 2016, opines Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. While uncertainty surrounds Cruz’s health, New York clearly isn’t counting on him, as the club drafted Sterling Shepard in the second round. As Roster Resource details, Shepard figures to start, while Dwayne Harris could also play a key role. Additionally, Big Blue has been rumored to be in the free agent receiver market, so perhaps the club could bring in external option as camp progresses.
Earlier today, the Redskins signed receiver Dez Stewart, who was part of a morning workout that included fellow pass-catcher Marlon Brown and quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

WR Notes: Boldin, Bryant, Austin, Patterson

June 1st, 2016 at 7:39pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Anquan Boldin piled up 69 receptions and nearly 800 yards in San Francisco’s anemic passing attack last season and could ostensibly help someone in 2016. The soon-to-be 36-year-old remains a free agent, though, and teams seemingly aren’t beating down the door for his services. When Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com asked a pro scouting director why the potential future Hall of Famer is still without a contract, the personnel man told Breer, “He’s old and can’t run” (Twitter link). Boldin has never been a burner, but he has still managed to rack up over 1,000 catches and 74 touchdowns in 13 seasons. As of earlier this month, the 49ers hadn’t yet ruled out re-signing Boldin – whom PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranks as the second-best offensive free agent on the market. If San Francisco opts against bringing him back, it could have another option in the still-unsigned James Jones. The longtime Packer expressed interest in signing with the Niners earlier today.

The latest on a few other wideouts:

An X-ray on Cowboys star Dez Bryant‘s surgically repaired right foot revealed positive news Wednesday, and he’s now “in the clear” when it comes to being able to participate in football drills, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Foot and ankle issues derailed last season for Bryant, who recorded career worsts across the board and will join quarterback Tony Romo as they look to bounce back this year.
The Rams’ Tavon Austin has just 123 receptions in his three-year career, but head coach Jeff Fisher believes the 5-foot-8, 176-pounder could eclipse the 100-catch mark this season as the go-to option in the club’s Jared Goff-led offense. “We’re going to be able to, if need be, hand it off to Todd (Gurley) and if someone says ‘we’re not going to let you do that,’ then we’re going to spread it around,” Fisher told the Rams’ website, per TurfShowTimes.com (hat tip to Kevin Patra of NFL.com). “And so when it’s all said and done, I think we’ll be able to look back and I think see Tavon maybe double in catches over what he had last year.” After Austin logged 52 grabs in 2015, the Rams elected in May to pick up his fifth-year option for 2017, meaning the 2013 first-rounder could be under their control for at least two more seasons.
Earlier this spring, the Vikings unsurprisingly declined Cordarrelle Patterson‘s fifth-year option for 2017, though his goal is to remain in Minnesota for the long haul. “I’d love to be here. If I don’t, I’ll take my talents somewhere else,” Patterson said Wednesday (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Patterson, a first-rounder in 2013, was a disappointment on offense in his first two seasons (78 total catches, five touchdowns). His production fell off a cliff last year, though, as he was barely part of the Vikings’ passing attack and picked up just two targets (both of which ended in receptions) while dressing for all 16 of their regular-season games.

Watt, Bryant, Others Get Salary Guarantees

March 13th, 2016 at 6:20pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Several NFL players have contracts containing language which states that they’ll get a full or partial salary guarantees for 2016 and/or 2017 if they remained on their respective teams on Sunday, the fifth day of the league year. Let’s check in on those players (link courtesy of CBS Sports’ Joel Corry):

Ryan Tannehill, quarterback (Dolphins): $3.5MM of $17.975MM base salary for 2017 is guaranteed.
Dez Bryant, wide receiver (Cowboys): $13MM base salary for 2017 is guaranteed.
T.Y. Hilton, wide receiver (Colts): $3MM base salary for 2016 is guaranteed. $6MM roster bonus now payable.
Anthony Castonzo, offensive tackle (Colts): $2.5MM base salary for 2016 is guaranteed. $4.5MM roster bonus now payable.
Tyron Smith, offensive tackle (Cowboys): $10MM base salary for 2016 is guaranteed.
Branden Albert, offensive tackle (Dolphins): $6MM of $8.245MM base salary for 2017 is guaranteed.
Mike Pouncey, center (Dolphins): $9MM base salary for 2016 is guaranteed, as is $2MM of Pouncey’s $7.95MM base salary in 2017.
Maurkice Pouncey, center (Steelers): $3.5MM roster bonus now payable.
Cameron Heyward, defensive end (Steelers): $5MM roster bonus now payable.
J.J. Watt, defensive end (Texans): $10.5MM base salaries for 2016 and 2017 are guaranteed.
Robert Quinn, defensive end (Rams): $7,777,777MM base salary for 2016 is guaranteed.
Lavonte David, linebacker (Buccaneers): $5MM base salary for 2016 is guaranteed.
Chris Harris Jr., cornerback (Broncos): $6.9MM base salary for 2016 is guaranteed.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cowboys Place Dez Bryant, Others On IR

December 30th, 2015 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Dez Bryant‘s disappointing 2015 season will end a week early, as head coach Jason Garrett announced today that the star wideout is being placed on injured reserve (link via Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com). In addition to Bryant, defensive tackle David Irving and safety Barry Church will also head to IR, per Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).

After going through an eventful offseason, which included receiving the franchise tag and eventually signing a lucrative long-term contract with the Cowboys, Bryant promptly had his season derailed by foot and ankle injuries, which limited him to the worst numbers of his career — in nine games, he caught just 31 balls for 401 yards and three touchdowns, all career lows.

According to Garrett, Bryant is expected to have surgery on both his foot and ankle over the course of the next week, tweets Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. That means both the Cowboys’ top wideout and starting quarterback could undergo procedures this offseason. Tony Romo indicated earlier this week that he may have a plate inserted to prevent further collarbone injuries.

As for the other two Cowboys who were placed on IR today, both of those moves had been expected. Church broke his right arm during Sunday’s game against Buffalo, while Irving sustained a fractured left wrist.