Dez Bryant is owed $12.5 million this season, but his play hasn’t been worth that. We’ll soon learn how the Dallas Cowboys will address that dilemma.
Ever since signing a five-year, $70 million extension, Dez Bryant hasn’t been the threat at wide receiver he once was for the Dallas Cowboys. To be fair, not all of that is his fault. Bryant struggled with injuries in 2015 and in 2016 he had to adjust to a new quarterback — although let’s be honest, no one else seems to need years to adjust to a new quarterback, but whatever.
In 2017 though, the onus was on Bryant. He was supposed to be healthy and he had more than a year of experience with quarterback Dak Prescott. Yet he would completely disappear in games.
Then he would start clamoring for the ball, and make a mistake once it was delivered to him — like his fumble against Seattle after throwing a tantrum on the sidelines about having just two passes thrown his way.
Now heading into a critical season, the Cowboys have a decision to make with Bryant. Do they continue to hope he has a “bounce-back” year like all his supporters believe he will? That’s a tough pill to swallow because the same supporters said 2015 would be a huge season after he got his deal and that 2016 and 2017 would both be bounce-back seasons after he was less than dominant.
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Or does the team cut their losses and bank on Prescott being able to lean on running back Ezekiel Elliott and the ground game while utilizing Allen Hurns, Cole Beasley and a possible first-round rookie as his top targets?
It’s hard to say what the right answer to this dilemma really is. Should they cut Dez, they have to hope Hurns and company can step up. If they keep him, does he continue to struggle, cause issues on the sideline and possibly hold back some of the younger talent around him?
One potential solution tossed around is to ask Bryant to take a pay cut, but that doesn’t matter if he still struggles. Even paying less money doesn’t mean he will be worth it if it keeps potential younger options off the field and developing. That simply means, the only way to keep him is if the coaches believe he can in fact help them win games. If not, they have to say goodbye.
While dead money will also be an issue should that be the route they choose, the Cowboys can designate him a post-June 1 cut. According to Over The Cap, this would result in $12.5 million in cap space and just $4 million in dead money. That space can be used to extend either defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence or guard Zack Martin.
No answer is the easy one, and whatever Dallas decides will be highly criticized. What fans need to realize is Dak and Dez just don’t seem to be on the same page. The real question will come down to whether they want to bet on the 24-year old quarterback with a 22-10 career record, or a 29-year old receiver coming off his third-straight disappointing season.
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Whatever they decide, the answer will likely come sooner rather than later. Be prepared to hear the anger from whatever side doesn’t get their way.