Dallas Cowboys released Dez Bryant one week before the draft, and the star wideout remains on the free market as no teams approached him. Actually, Ravens did offer him a three year $21 million contract, but Dez refused. He wants to stay in NFC East.
Anyone who watched how Cowboys and Bryant played last year could tell you a few reasons why this guy was released. He’s not as a physical player as he once was, his route running is average at best, and the sideline tantrums did him no favors. Bryant’s colossal salary that doesn’t reflect his on-field performance is the icing on the cake of his release. With him not wanting to take a pay cut parting ways was the only option.
Talking to ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM Dallas Cowboys scouting chief Will McClay confirmed this: “It was a collective deal. The (inability) to win one-on-one, to win downfield. There was inconsistency as well as some huge things in his play. So what’s best moving forward for Dez Bryant the Cowboys, we just made that decision. It’s a production-based business.”
After the 2017 season ended Bryant was asked if he would accept a pay cut. At that time he said: “No, I’m good enough.” His heart changed a bit when April came, but after the conversation with Jerry Jones, Bryant noted that pay cut was not on the table. Dallas Cowboys didn’t offer him a pay cut, he was straight up released.
Cutting Dez Bryant wasn’t about the money. America’s Team didn’t want him on the roster. They did the math, and the solution for Cowboys was that the future for Big D franchise looks brighter with Dez out, regardless of the money he would earn.
So, in the end, Cowboys didn’t just release Bryant. They put all of his flaws out on the plain sight. Every team that wants him will know the exact reasons why Dallas released him. And, it wasn’t about the money or his locker room behavior it was about his on-field decline.
Dez still has faith in his ability, but will any of the teams in the NFL have? So far, none of them approached Dez, and with his desire to stay in NFC East the market is even more narrow. He will regret passing on that Ravens offer as things stand now.
