Desperate Cowboys must be careful with Dez Bryant

The Dallas Cowboys are desperate and looking for answers.

That’s why they made the switch at quarterback from Brandon Weeden to Matt Cassel. That’s why they are benching left guard Ron Leary and replacing him with rookie La’el Collins.

It’s also at the crux of running back Christine Michael getting more carries moving forward, starting Sunday afternoon against the New York Giants.

Riding a three-game losing streak and hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive until quarterback Tony Romo returns Nov. 22 from a fractured collarbone, the Cowboys are in crisis mode.

They need to win.

Now.

But the Cowboys also need to be careful when it comes to the possible return of star wide receiver Dez Bryant.

Bryant has been out since suffering a fractured bone in his right foot in the season opener. It takes six weeks for a fractured bone to heal — no matter the surgery, grafts and injections that Bryant has undergone to hasten the process.

Yes, Bryant is Superman, as owner Jerry Jones likes to call him, and he would certainly make a huge difference for the offense and Cassel’s success in replacing Weeden.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Bryant caught 88 passes and a team-record 16 touchdowns last season.

No player in team history had more catches, yards or touchdowns in their first five seasons than Bryant, who caught 381 passes for 5,424 yards and 56 touchdowns from 2010-2014.

Yes, the Cowboys miss him.

He would open up lanes in the running game and give the quarterback a game-breaker on the outside. (And now you know why Weeden is “pissed off.”)

But this is where the Cowboys and Bryant need to show patience. If the bone is not 100-percent healed, then he should sit out at least another week.

Bryant is saying all the right things: That his focus is on getting healthy first and “if it’s the Giants, it’s the Giants,” as he did last Thursday.

If you know Bryant’s love for his teammates, then you know he will do everything possible to get on the field against the Giants.

Jones has done the situation no favors by openly talking the past two weeks about Bryant returning against the Giants. It only puts more pressure on Bryant to play.

That’s where and he and the Cowboys can get into trouble if there is not a strong voice of reason in the face of all this desperation.

Bryant is too important for the remainder of the season and the future — remember that five-year, $70 million contract he signed in July — to rush back too soon.

It’s not worth a setback with the fracture.

Even if the fracture is healed, the matter of conditioning must be considered.

Last week was the first time Bryant had done any running or rehab work putting his entire weight on his foot. Before that had been non-weight bearing conditioning.

So it’s not only the risk of re-breaking the bone in his foot. There is possibility of suffering a groin or hamstring injury because he will be doing things his body hasn’t done in a while.

You only get in football shape by playing football.

Remember that Bryant had to get an IV in the first half of the season opener against the Giants, then suffered the fracture in the second half. That was after spending the previous month rehabbing and working out in training camp because of a hamstring injury.

Bryant only knows one way to play — all out.

Bryant knows only one way to be. That’s playing the role of Superman.

And if he plays Sunday against the Giants, he will do his best to save the DFW Metropolis.

How do you save Bryant from himself and save the Cowboys’ season?

By being very careful with the decision on whether to let him play against the Giants.

Times are desperate, but the good news is that the NFC seems to be coming back to the Cowboys.

Only the Green Bay Packers (6-0) would rank as a dominant team. The Carolina Panthers (5-0) are undefeated, but they don’t scare anyone. Same for the Atlanta Falcons (5-1). The NFC West is not what we thought it was going to be, and the Cowboys’ own NFC East remains a joke.

A 9-7 record might be just good enough for a playoff berth, if not a division title.

No need to go into panic mode.

Clear heads. Sound minds. Rational thought.

One more week would be the right call. One more week to make sure Bryant’s foot is healed and he’s in better condition.

This story was originally published October 19, 2015 at 9:23 PM with the headline "Desperate Cowboys must be careful with Dez Bryant."