Dez Bryant, out for Cowboys game with COVID-19, says he’s done for year then recants
The much-anticipated reunion between the Dallas Cowboys and former receiver Dez Bryant has been canceled.
The game will be played. But Bryant, who is now with the Baltimore Ravens, has been ruled out of the game after testing positive for COVID-19.
And the ruling led Bryant to contemplate his overall future with the Ravens.
“Yea I’m going to go ahead and call it a quit for the rest of the season... I can’t deal with this,” a disappointed Bryant said in a tweet, the second major development he shared during the evening.
Bryant admitted being emotional and reversed his decision following a series of rants on Twitter.
“Yea I’m coming back... I’m being smart,” Bryant responded to a follower.
He said he was just going to drink some wine and cope with his situation. He will likely miss at least two games.
About an hour before the game, Bryant tweeted the results of his coronavirus test: “Tell me why they pull me from warming up so I can go get tested... my [expletive] come back positive... I tested positive for Covid WTF.”
According to FOX Sports, Bryant was tested earlier in the day and it was inconclusive. He was then re-tested at the stadium before the game and it came back positive, so he was removed from the field after warming up.
It’s the continuation of horrible two weeks for Ravens due a COVID-19 outbreak in their organization. They had 10 consecutive days of positive tests and 23 players were placed on the COVID-19 reserve list since Nov. 23.
The Ravens were missing more than dozen players, including reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and six other Pro Bowl players in last Wednesday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, which was initially set for Thanksgiving.
The delay in that game is what forced the Cowboys-Ravens game to be postponed until Tuesday.
Bryant was cut by the Cowboys after 2017 season. He was by the New Orleans Saints in 2018 but suffered a torn Achilles in practice and did not play a game.
Bryant said earlier this week that was not mentally prepared to return when he signed with Saints as he was going through depression.
He did not play in 2019 and was out of football until signed with Ravens practice squad Oct. 27.
Then, on Nov. 28, he was signed the active roster for the remainder of the season, just in time for Tuesday’s reunion against the 3-8 Cowboys.
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 6:55 PM.
