While it is true that Dez Bryant’s production declined drastically over the last three years, he was still the best wide receiver the Dallas Cowboys had on their roster. Now that the Dallas Cowboys have moved on from him, their wide receiving corps ranks among the bottom of the league. Even if they add a young WR with a high draft pick, chances are that player will not have a significant impact for the Cowboys this year. So why did the Cowboys decide to part ways with their star receiver?
The declining production is certainly a factor but remember he has been struggling with injuries and the loss of a quarterback he had an excellent raport and timing with in Tony Romo. The hefty salary was also a factor but in a recent interview with Jane Slater of the NFL Network on the show NFL Total Access, Bryant revealed that he was willing to take a pay cut but was never offered one. There is a growing movement among Cowboy fans that believe the timing of this move was the first of a chain of events that could ultimately lead to the Cowboys trading for Seattle Seahawks All-Pro Safety Earl Thomas. That would be a popular development but I am not convinced that was the motivation behind this move. The reason Dez was let go was because of what he touched upon in that interview. Bryant had told Jane Slater that he believes “Garrett guys” had an influence on the decision to cut him.
Dez has always been an emotional leader and is often vocal on the sidelines. That is a rare quality for an athlete and a team needs that type of personality to motivate teamates. Though at times Bryant is emotional to a fault and on occasion that has led to some heated exchanges between his teammates and coaches that were captured on camera. Dez is a vocal guy and he holds everyone accountable, even coaches as per a former teammate.
Interesting text from a now fmr. teammate of @DezBryant, who said he was “a great teammateâCoaches prolly had a problem with him ‘cause he would call them out like they do us… that’s prolly why they let him go.â€
Went on to say “He called them out publicly. That’s a no no.†pic.twitter.com/9AERSpSMv6
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) April 13, 2018
That I believe, is the reason above all others that Dez Bryant is no longer a Dallas Cowboy. It should be noted that I am not a huge fan of Jason Garrett. I am among many fans that was hoping the Cowboys would move on from him several years ago, but the Cowboys are committed to him so he is staying whether fans like it or not. Since we as fans are stuck with Garrett and we wish for our team to succeed we must also hope that the team fosters an environment that is most likely for him to succeed. In this scenario, it is to get everyone to buy in to the current coaching staff and to be on the same page even in times of adversity. No one player, no matter how talented, can improve a team more than an entire group working together and believing in each other and their coaches. I am not implying that Dez Bryant is not willing to do this, on the contrary I believe he is a prime example of a player you would want on your team when the chips are down. What may be the problem is that since Bryant is such a respected locker room leader, his moments of raw emotion where he lashes out at coaches may plant the seed of doubt in other players.
It is my sincerest hope that after sacrificing one of their best players, this coaching staff can bring this team together and achieve greatness. As for Dez Bryant, I am sure he will find success on some other team (hopefully not in the same division) but it is truly unfortunate for him that the Cowboys made this decision so late into free agency.
*Photo by Kieth Allision https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode