NFL News: Dez Bryant Leaves Cleveland Without A Deal In Place With The Browns
The start of the 2018 NFL regular season is less than a month away, and All-Pro wide receiver Dez Bryant is still without a team. After being released by the Dallas Cowboys earlier this year, many thought he’d find a landing spot in a hurry. Now, it’s the middle of August and Bryant only just went to have a visit with the Browns on Friday, but he ended up leaving Cleveland without a deal being in place.
For months, there have been rumors that Bryant would end up signing with Cleveland and becoming a Brown, but there was never much to the speculation. On Friday, he officially headed to Ohio and decided to meet with team officials to see if they could work together.
A free agent since April, Bryant has been taking his time and he did visit with the Baltimore Ravens before the draft, but nothing came of it.
Browns general manager John Dorsey recently gave an interview in which he said he would love to meet with the former Cowboys receiver, but couldn’t get in touch with him. The next thing anyone knew, Bryant was heading to Cleveland for a meeting.
Now, that meeting is over and the Browns are without another wide receiver and Bryant is still without a team.
Dez Bryant’s visit with Browns concludes with no deal: https://t.co/c33ZtDvCev (via @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/ZQ90rmSrEW
— NFL (@NFL) August 17, 2018
As reported by NFL.com, Dez Bryant was in Cleveland on Friday and met with team officials and the coaching staff, but a deal could not be agreed upon. With a few weeks left to go in the preseason, him leaving without a contract does not mean that all hope is lost for him to become a member of the Browns organization.
It appears as if the lines of communication are still open, but things were simply not to everyone’s liking just yet.
Dez Bryant's visit with the #Browns ended without a deal, per source. Door not closed yet, though.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 17, 2018
Bryant had officially started meeting with the Cleveland Browns on Thursday. As the evening went on, it was clearly evident that a deal would not be struck on day one, but the meeting continued on Friday and unfortunately for both sides, things simply couldn’t be worked out.
Dez Bryant will turn 30 in November, but he was still playing some great football before being released by the Cowboys. In eight NFL seasons, Bryant has 7,459 yards and 73 touchdowns on 531 career receptions.
The Browns have Jarvis Landry as their primary target in the receiving game and if Josh Gordon’s uncertain status could ever be determined, Cleveland would have a great duo. Adding Bryant to the mix would easily give the Browns one of the best wide receiving corps in the league. For now, that relationship simply isn’t going to become a reality, but the possibility is still there before the NFL regular season begins.
