Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant is still only 29 years old, but his best days may be well behind him. That’s apparently what some of his own coaches think, at least from a physical sense, as Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated notes.
Dallas’ coaches have reportedly seen the decline of Bryant’s immense physical skills ever since he suffered an injury-hit season in 2015. Bryant has lost some of the speed and the inches off his vertical which helped make him such a dominant receiver earlier in his career, and he hasn't quite been able to adjust his game accordingly.
As one member of the Cowboys’ staff succinctly put it referring to Bryant, “Based on last year, he does very few things really well.”
The numbers have certainly backed up that claim. After averaging a remarkable 1,300 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in three consecutive seasons from 2012-14, Bryant has been a shell of himself over the last three years. He’s averaged below 700 yards with six touchdowns in those three campaigns.
Obviously, those numbers are not worth the elite-level money the Cowboys are paying Bryant on his current contract. And with his physical tools waning, it’s difficult to see Dez getting back to that sort of level barring a complete reinvention of his game.
Rumors of Bryant’s future in Dallas being in doubt have persisted for most of the offseason. However, he has a couple of big backers in owner Jerry Jones and coach Jason Garrett, which could see him stay on in Big D. But at some point, they likely have to come to grips with the reality that the old Dez Bryant, who was an absolute physical specimen, is gone and isn’t coming back again.
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