The man that runs the guillotine in Dallas is not Jerry; it’s Stephen Jones. He was the one that made slice and cut decisions in the past, and he will be the one that will make them in the future. If you remember Stephen was the one who convinced Jerry Jones to sign Deion Sanders in 1995 and to give him $12,999 million signing bonus. It wasn’t $13 million because of Jerry’s superstition. He was also the one who decided to cut Terrell Owens and one that persuaded Jerry Jones not to pick Johnny Manziel in 2015.
So to put it plainly Stephen Jones is in charge of making hard decisions in Dallas. So, when the time comes for Cowboys to deal with Dez Bryant, he will be in the center of it.
Dealing with Bryant, his $12.5 million salary, off-field antics, sideline tantrums, and declining production will be one of the most significant issues for America’s Team in the offseason. Last year Dez did lead Cowboys in receptions (69), receiving yards (838), and TD catches (6), but he also led the league with 12 dropped passes. Despite being Cowboys top receiver, he’s nowhere near his numbers from 2012-2014 when he was one of the leagues premium WR’s. Those seasons earned him a five-year $70 million contract in 2015.
But, injuries came along, and shift happened at the QB position, so Bryant was never his old self. Now, after two uninspiring years, Cowboys have a decision to make regarding Dez. Dallas franchise could ask him to take a pay cut, which could happen, despite him saying that he won’t accept lowering his wages.
But in the end, it won’t be Bryant that will make all of the decisions. Stephen Jones is aware that there might be issues with Dez both from football and financial side.
When asked about Prescott/Bryant chemistry Jones said: “The Dez situation has a lot of moving parts to it. The chemistry between Dak and Dez is different between Tony (Romo) and Dez. Tony and Dez had their game tailored to one another. Dak doesn’t play the way Tony played. It hasn’t hit on all cylinders on how the connection works. It’s a work in progress.”
But the football field is not the only issues with Dez like we said. Regarding his sideline antics, Stephen Jones said the following: “The other thing that we all see and it is certainly visible to anyone who watches our games, watches our sideline, is Dez is certainly a fiery guy who plays with a lot of emotion both on and off the field. Sometimes that can be a distraction. It can be a distraction for Dez. It can be a distraction for other teammates.”
In the end, Jones addressed Bryant’s future as a Cowboy: “And we just have to really get our hands around, when you put all the full body of work together, where that’s headed. Of course, we pay Dez a lot of money, and he knows that. He’s as aware of it as anybody. … He knows when you get paid that kind of money there’s high expectations in terms of the productivity. … Those are all things we have to look at as a team, as an organization when we start to put our team together for next year.”
So, regardless of what Dez Bryant thinks of himself and his situation, if the need arises for him to be cut, Stephen Jones will be the one to do it.
, receiving yards (838), and TD catches (6), but he also led the league with 12){kind=link}