Just over 48 hours after the New Orleans Saints announced the signing of Dez Bryant to their roster, the team was faced with an unfortunate turn of events that has them facing a future without the former Dallas Cowboys star. Bryant hurt himself in practice on Friday, November 9, and by the looks of it, he will be out for the remainder of the season.
Shortly after NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero took to Twitter to report that Bryant was scheduled to undergo an MRI in order to evaluate whether or not it was his Achilles that was affected when he pulled up in pain, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that the MRI Pelissero referenced would simply be a “formality.” Then, soon after Schefter revealed that doctors were pretty much sure Bryant had suffered a tear, NFL digital content editor Austin Knoblauch reported that a diagnosis has confirmed the organization’s worst fears about the injury suffered by the three-time Pro Bowl wideout.
News of the misfortune struck Bryant’s new teammates hard, with lead wide receiver Michael Thomas making a reference to the veteran’s touchdown ritual by tweeting “Best believe we throwing up the X still bro.” Bryant too lamented, releasing a tweet in which he recalled how geared up he was to take on a new chapter in his career when the setback happened. Bryant said he will leave whatever occurs from here on out in God’s hands.
Testing on Saints’ WR Dez Bryant’s Achilles is considered “a formality”, per source. Doctors believe it is torn. Injury expected to sideline him eight months, putting him on track to potentially be ready for training camp.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 9, 2018
Things was just starting to heat up for me… I won’t question the man upstairs… this is the ultimate test.. thank you everyone for the prayers
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) November 9, 2018
Bryant wasn’t expected to play in Sunday’s Week 10 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, so the loss doesn’t necessarily catch them off guard heading into the weekend. However, it is certainly a blow to the potential that Saints coach Sean Payton had in mind for an offense that needed a piece like Bryant to replace field stretcher Ted Ginn, Jr. and Cameron Meredith, both of whom have also been knocked out for the remainder of the year.
For Bryant, it is a major bummer as well. According to Yahoo Sports , he was set to make as much as $500,000 in incentives to go along with the pro-rated amount of $1.75 million that his contract would have allowed him to receive. All in all, the figures are small to a guy who never got over Dallas cutting him to save $12.5 million. But for Bryant, linking up with Drew Brees and a squad that bears great potential to make the Super Bowl, the cut in pay would have been well worth such a compromise.
The question now becomes whether the Saints will be interested in resuming with Bryant once he is healthy, or if they only had it in their plans to use him for a one-shot deal. The answer remains to be seen.
