Dez Bryant is a free agent but the Dallas Cowboys are not about to let him go. They would like to work out a long-term deal with him, but if they are not able to right away, they will likely use the franchise tag on him. If that is the case, Bryant will likely skip the team’s offseason program.
ESPN’s Ed Werder, who is connected on all matters Dallas Cowboys-related, reported Tuesday that Bryant is unlikely to participate in the team’s offseason if tagged:
If franchise tagged, Dez Bryant wouldd get $13M instead of $30-40M guaranteed. Told he would probably not participate offseason if happens
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) February 17, 2015
The Cowboys have a tricky situation ahead. Two of their offensive stars, Bryant and DeMarco Murray, are both free agents. The team is planning to meet with Murray’s agent to see if they can work out a deal with him first before worrying about Dez. The Cowboys can franchise tag Bryant and guarantee they will have him next season for around $13 million, which is an amount he is definitely worth. Then they can worry about a long-term deal with him later.
Team VP Stephen Jones even said they are leaning towards franchising Dez.
“Right now all things being equal, it’s leaning more Dez with the franchise than it is not,” Jones said Tuesday via the Dallas Morning News. “But that doesn’t mean it will stay that way.
“We don’t ever want to give up on a long-term deal,” Jones continued. “It’s something we worked on all of last year and it kind of cooled off once we got into the season. We’ll continue to see what our options are and things happen quickly as you go along. Things can go along with a lot not going on, but all of a sudden it happens.”
Bryant sent a tweet Tuesday expressing his disappointment with the team.
I wish They felt the same way but it's cool.. It's #business RT @FrankyGonzalez3: I love how dedicated @DezBryant is to the @dallascowboys
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) February 17, 2015
Keep in mind that Jerry Jones has already said it will be difficult to bring back both players. It seems like for now, Dez is guaranteed to be back, though it might not be exactly on the terms he wants.
