Dez Bryant has been with the Dallas Cowboys organization long enough that nobody is surprised when he does something like skip an MRI or show up late to a meeting. And, according to one report, his absentmindedness does not cause issues in the locker room.
In his weekly column for The MMQB, Albert Breer shared some insight into how the Cowboys’ coaches, officials and players view Bryant. One source told Breer that the team has a support system surrounding Bryant to help “get him from point A to point B” — babysitters, in others words. Here’s more:
In some ways, Bryant has grown up. In others, he still struggles. When he was at Oklahoma State, the staff had people assigned to make sure Bryant would wake up on time, get to class on time, and meet all his commitments. Similarly, Bryant still has a support system around him to, as one club source puts it, “get him from Point A to Point B.” Most of the problems aren’t big ones—like making sure, if there’s a 5-minute break in a meeting, he isn’t strolling back in 9 minutes later. But there are times when he’s hit with adversity and doesn’t handle it well. And it’s not little football adversities, so much as it is life adversities. Last year’s locker-room blowup during a particularly rough stretch for the team was one such example. The situation with the MRI this year was another of Bryant struggling to face the reality of a tough situation.
Breer goes on to explain that the obvious reason the Cowboys put up with Bryant is his talent. The narrative we hear discussed less often is how much Bryant’s teammates like and respect him.
The second is at least logical; he’s a well-intentioned person, if a little troubled. He is susceptible to going where the wind blows him. But his teammates generally like him, and he’s built great relationships with fellow receivers Terrence Williams and Cole Beasley, loves quarterbacks Tony Romo and Dak Prescott, and has earned the respect of Jason Witten, the most respected player in the locker room.
It all seems a bit childish, as any working professional should be held to the same standards as his coworkers. But if the Cowboys are fine with Bryant missing or showing up late to as many meetings as this report indicated, more power to them. Let’s see how they feel about it if he continues to get hurt and/or his production dips.
