Cowboys WR Dez Bryant looks like old self in preseason debut

Wide receiver Dez Bryant appeared to be in midseason form against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday night.

Bryant hauled in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, making a nice adjustment on an underthrown ball. Bryant had one more catch for 23 yards on the night.

Prescott said he and Bryant’s chemistry has grown “so much” going into the second year with each other.

“I don’t know if I can honestly put it into words just how much better of a player he is, and we were just talking about how good his body feels,” Prescott said in halftime quotes distributed by the team.

“He’s just a much better player right now than what he was last year at this time. Our chemistry is growing, so it’s fun.”

Bryant, who turns 29 in November, is coming off two frustrating seasons in which he failed to reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark. Bryant had three straight seasons of at least 1,200 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns from 2012-14.

Bryant has battled various injuries the past two seasons. He broke his foot and sustained a knee injury that limited him to nine games in 2015. Last year, he had a tibial plateau fracture that kept him out of three games. Bryant finished with 50 catches　for 796 yards and eight touchdowns.

But Bryant has been positive all training camp about his health and his production thus far shows why.

“Motivated? I’m always motivated,” Bryant said earlier in training camp. “I’m excited. You see that Green Bay game last year we lost? [Shoot], it’s on. Straight up.”

This story was originally published August 19, 2017 at 8:17 PM with the headline "Cowboys WR Dez Bryant looks like old self in preseason debut."