Talk and rumors of the Dallas Cowboys acquiring running back Adrian Peterson via trade are now seemingly dead for good. With that a thing of the past, the Cowboys need to focus on their present and their future, which would seem to start with wide receiver Dez Bryant . Unfortunately, there appears to be a great distance between the two, and it’s really hard to figure out why that is.
Could this be Bryant’s last season with the Dallas Cowboys ?
It was revealed back in March that DeMarco Murray was out for the Cowboys and that Dez Bryant would be getting the franchise tag . A long-term deal could not be reached between the two, and he had to be tagged.
Bob Sturm of the Cowboys Blog believes that a new contract could be ironed out before the 2015 season officially begins, but there’s a “great divide” still in place. Confusion is all over the place, though, as it isn’t exactly clear why there is so much space between the Cowboys and Bryant.
“To me, it makes the most sense to settle his contract situation sooner rather than later. But, it is rather clear to most of us who observe this closely that there is a great divide between the two parties. What is unclear is whether it is a personality rift or whether it is a money difference. On one hand, it seems like they still don’t fully trust what security might do to him (which I do not understand) and on the other hand, his side hints that they don’t think Megatron money is too silly (which I also do not understand). There is limited clarity to say the least on what the heck we are fighting over.”
Dez Bryant didn’t appear at the Offseason Training Activities (OTAs) for the Cowboys this past week, but it’s obvious that he’s missed. The Cowboys coaching staff and brass have done nothing but praise him in interviews, press conferences, and reports during his absence.
That hasn’t stopped the Cowboys from letting people know that football is still a business. The franchise tag is on Bryant for 2015, and Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones says they aren’t afraid to use it again if needed.
“If he ends up playing this year under the tag we will go right back to work again next year. Now would we like to get a long term deal on him? Of course we would. We’ll work hard to do that and I’m sure we’ll make a push at some point and see if we can make it work. If not, hopefully he will understand it’s difficult to make a deal at this point and he’ll come in and get ready to play.”
The only time that Dez Bryant has been seen during the offseason thus far is at a few workouts, per Pro Football Talk . He took part in some individual drills last week, but that’s about all that anyone has gotten out of him to this point.
As of now, Dez Bryant would likely need to get a long-term deal by July 15, if it’s going to happen for the 2015 season. It would really be in the Dallas Cowboys’ best interest not to franchise him years in a row because an unhappy All-Pro is not a good thing to have on a team.
[Image via Chat Sports]