Perhaps the greatest question surrounding the Dallas Cowboys this offseason revolves around the status of wide receiver Dez Bryant and fortunately, another clue has been thrown into the rumor mix.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones recently proclaimed that the decision on whether or not Bryant will make a Big D return in 2018 will strictly come down to “business,” via Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“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.
Speculation furthered Thursday night when Jones hesitated to speak on Bryant returning at his $12.5 million annual salary when the attended the inaugural Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award ceremony.
“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.”
Dallas has the option to get out of Bryant's current five-year deal that would last through 2019. Should they opt to not pick up the option, they'd save a cool $12.5 million. Under normal Dez circumstances, it'd be an easy decision for the Boys, but the 29-year-old physical wideout has done little to impress the last couple of seasons.
The Oklahoma State product hasn't eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark since 2014, a season that provided an All-Pro nod as he finished with 1,320 yards, 88 receptions and a whopping 16 touchdowns. Though he qualified for the Pro Bowl in 2016, his last three seasons have been rather pedestrian. Part of it has been due to injury. More if it has come down to the Cowboys transition to the running attack with a young quarterback at the helm.
In any event, many believe Dez Bryant will become an unrestricted free agent soon.
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