Dallas Cowboys Rumors: Dez Bryant & Team Likely To Part Ways, According To ‘ESPN’ Prediction
According to recent ESPN speculation, the Dallas Cowboys rumors are that the team will part ways with wide receiver Dez Bryant. That could change but only if Bryant is willing to take a pay cut to remain on the roster. The idea of parting ways with Bryant is also one that even a former NFL quarterback familiar with the nature of the business agrees with. It will certainly be among the biggest decisions on the team’s plate as they look to construct their roster for the upcoming season. Here are the latest details on Bryant’s situation and why it’s believed he’ll no longer be a part of the Dallas Cowboys’ roster for the 2018-19 NFL season.
On Wednesday, ESPN‘s Todd Archer talked in his latest column about moves that the Dallas Cowboys may make to fix their roster ahead of the next season. One of the predicted moves from Archer is that Dallas will probably “part ways” with longtime wide receiver Dez Bryant. He suggests that the team will not mark Bryant as a post-June 1 cut. Due to this, it means they are going to have to still take on Bryant’s “full prorated signing bonus against the 2018 salary cap.” Archer also mentions that the three-time NFL Pro Bowler has a cap figure of $16.5 million for the team.
As the Cowboys get into their evaluations for 2018, it’s evident they’ll be taking a hard look at Dez Bryant’s 2017 season.
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— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) January 3, 2018
As noted, former NFL quarterback turned analyst Boomer Esiason also seems to think the Cowboys’ best move would be parting ways with Bryant, but they’ll need to do some work to bring some value to the roster. When asked about how the Cowboys could get Bryant more open Esiason questioned if they would be worrying about that.
“Are you sure that Dez is still going to be on the team?
“You know what the one thing is? [You may remember] the Saints traded Brandin Cooks, and he was their No. 1 receiver. They didn’t lose a beat without him. As a matter of fact, I think with the pick they got from the Patriots, they drafted their right tackle. They hit it out of the park when it came to the draft this year, and it’s one of the reasons New Orleans got as far as they did.”
Esiason suggested that the Cowboys will need to make another excellent draft choice this coming NFL Draft. He brings up how several teams picked up impactful players during the 2017 draft such as the New Orleans Saints choosing Alvin Kamara and the Kansas City Chiefs selecting Kareem Hunt. Both players had significan impacts on their team’s offenses which included both squads qualifying for the postseason.
As far as Dez Bryant goes, the 29-year-old wide receiver is now heading into his ninth season in the league. In 2017, he had 69 receptions for 838 yards and six touchdowns on 133 targets. Bryant averaged 12.1 yards per reception. They weren’t career-high numbers, but these numbers led the team in each of the categories, which makes the case for him being a major asset for many teams including Dallas.
Still, Bryant has already said he wouldn’t be willing to take a pay cut to remain on the Dallas Cowboys’ roster, so that probably means it’s in the team’s best interest to move forward without him. With that said, the Cowboys could decide to make a pick in the upcoming draft to fill the void as Esiason has suggested.
