Entering his
ninth season in the NFL, all of which he’s played with the Dallas Cowboys;
questions begin to escalate about the future of his tenure in Big-D. Recent
rumors have suggested that Bryant is unequivocally going to receive his walking
papers after the NFL draft. While Bryant surely remains in his prime at the age
of 29, the reason for speculation of his potential release is purely dictated
with the remaining dollars on his contract and current cap hit which is
handcuffing the Cowboys. Having signed his monster contract back in 2015 (5YR-$70,000,000/45,000,000-Guaranteed),
the dollars committed haven’t equated to statistical success on the field these
last three years. Missing ten games over the span with a multitude of injures also
has Jerry Jones and the Cowboys brain trust apprehensive in how to handle their
star receiver.
Purely from
the financial aspect, the Cowboys find themselves in a heap of trouble with a
minimal 5.6 million dollars remaining on the books to help add talent to this roster,
(cap includes 7.18 million in draft pool dollars). The remaining two years on Dez
Bryant’s contract is responsible for eating up a whopping 8.8% of the Dallas
salary cap equating to a 16.5 million dollar cap hit for the next two seasons,
seeing the term closeout in 2020. If Dallas indeed chooses to cut bait
releasing Bryant, the post June 1st designation would create 12.5
million in added money while taking on a slim 4 million in dead cap increasing the
Cowboys available funds to roughly 18 million. Based on the amount of money
owed to Dez Bryant over the next two years while planning for the future to
resign talents like DeMarcus Lawrence, Zack Martin, and David Irving in 2019,
Jerry Jones hand is likely forced to make the unpopular decision in moving on
from the career Cowboy.
While money
is the driving factor in this discussion, Bryant’s production over the last
three seasons leaves a lot to be desired to justify his current contract.
Dez Bryant Career Stats:
While
injuries have limited Bryant over this span, one can’t overlook the lack of
talent around him that has led the drastic drop in production. Bryant’s 2015
season was lost not only impart to his missed time, but to their star
quarterback Tony Romo leaving backups to try and feed him the ball. The 2016
season saw a rookie (Dak Prescott) thrown into the fold once Romo suffered another
back injury in the pre-season ultimately anointing the young pivot as the new franchise
quarterback. While Prescott performed admirably in his rookie season, the
Cowboys turned their offensive scheme to more of a run heavy approach leaving
Bryant as somewhat of an afterthought as he endured three more lost games to
injury and having to contend with double and triple coverages when he was on
the field. Last season saw much of the same offensive system where Dez wasn’t fully
utilized and blanketed in coverage leaving him as the secondary option in most
games. Adding to the system and how Coach Garrett chose to run the offense,
Bryant hasn’t enjoyed playing alongside talented wide receivers since the likes
of Miles Austin back in their glory years which added to his less than stellar
production in recent seasons.
While some
question if the overall talent level still resides in the big bodied receiver,
and if health moving forward will continue to be a glaring issue, ADF still endorses
the belief that Dez Bryant remains a top flight wide receiver talent that will excel
with a change of scenery and sufficient talent around him. As we love to do,
ADF begins the speculation process to where Dez would entrain playing if Dallas
indeed cuts bait sending Bryant packing;
The Carolina Panthers:
This situation
would scream success to see Bryant team up with Cam Newton and Christian
McCaffrey to form a scary unit attacking defenses leaving single coverages all
over the field. The issue at hand for the Panthers (much like the Cowboys) is
the lack of adequate cap space to bring him aboard. If Carolina could
restructure contracts, this would be a prime situation for all involved.
The Los Angeles Rams:
With the
Rams looking to add receiver talent and rumored to be in talks with the Giants
for Odell Beckham, Dez Bryant would fit into this offense like a glove while
saving the Rams draft picks in the process. Rounding out an already talented
core, Bryant would claim the number one role day one making the Rams that much
better. With ample amounts of money to spend, the Rams could be a front runner
if Bryant enters the open market.
The San Francisco 49ers:
Perhaps a
more intriguing option would see Bryant land in San Francisco catching passes
from the young up and comer in Jimmy Garappolo. Kyle Shanahan has always
favored the X-receiver in his systems allowing him to exploit the talents of
players with number one skillsets much like Julio Jones in Atlanta. As the
49ers continue to build while possessing a large sum of cap space, San Fran
could be a great landing spot for Bryant to watch his production re-establish itself
under the offensive genius of Kyle Shanahan.
With all
speculation aside, ADF still believes in the talent that Dez Bryant could
provide to any club. While injuries may have caused him to lose a minor step, ultimately
it was the situation in Dallas that wasn’t conducive to him achieving the
numbers we’ve been accustomed to in the past. Bryant still possesses power, a
great first step off the line, good route running skill, and leaping ability
that would rival any defensive back in the league. In recognizing the things he
does well, it’s important to highlight areas in need of improvement. Over the
last three seasons the full breakaway speed has regressed in his game as
lingering back problems undoubtedly factor into that. A large red flag has to
be applied when reviewing the amount of drops Bryant suffered this past season.
Raking atop the NFL in dropped passes in 2017 (9 drops), Dez also amassed a
drop rate of 12.5% placing him in a category no receiver would like to be in.
ADF has great confidence that being released from the Cowboys should provide
Dez the motivation to regain his status as one of the best receivers in the
game. With that all said, the excitement would fade greatly if Bryant elected
to solely cash in on his free agent status to garner the largest pay check
rather than playing on a squad with a talented quarterback. Either way, this
will be an interesting situation.
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