If Ozzie Newsome says Dez Bryant can play, he can play
The Dallas Cowboys are set to begin another training camp in enviable temperatures of Southern California, only their bravado will not be with them on the beach in Oxnard.
Or, as Jerry Jones says it, “Ahxnrd”.
We are going to all miss Dez Bryant more than we think. God knows we media scum will, and soon enough the fans will, too.
Dez was never dull. I miss him already.
Jason Garrett won’t, and neither will offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, but the Cowboys as a whole will have a hard time replacing Eight-Eight.
No, he’s not the same receiver he was in 2014, but he’s not done. With all due respect to Allen Hurns and Terrance Williams, if Dez is a Cowboy today, he’s their best receiver.
Of course, you may be.
Their best receiver now is Ezekiel Elliott. In case you don’t know, Zeke is a running back.
Someone should sign Dez to a real contract and squeeze whatever remaining football he has. There is good football left. Not a lot. Not $12.9 million worth, but good football nonetheless.
The fact that the Baltimore Ravens, and their GM Ozzie Newsome, reportedly offered him a multi-year deal should tell you something.
So should this:
On Tuesday, Dallas Cowboys radio analyst and all-time good guy Mr. Babe Laufenberg tweeted this out: “(LA Rams WR) Brandin Cooks 2017- 65 Recs, 7TDs, 57% Rec/Targets. 5 years, $80M... (KC Chiefs WR) Sammy Watkins 39 Recs, 8 TDs, 56%, 3 years, $48M...Dez Bryant 69, 6TDs, 52%...NO JOB... Hmmm”
Yes, Hmm or Hrumph. You pick.
Few guys care more about football, and his team, more than Dez. How he expresses himself is full of flaws, but his intentions never are.
With Garrett leading the charge, the Cowboys cut Dez on April 13 and he has remained a free agent ever since. The money was no longer worth it all for the Cowboys.
But if we are talking football at the right price, whom do you trust more, Garrett or Newsome?
Newsome is not some dumb GM who throws around money at free agents. Not like a certain NFL GM who lives in town.
There are some sets of eyes that you should trust in the NFL. Bill Belichick. Pete Carroll. Sean Payton. Thomas Dimitroff. Ozzie Newsome.
It was Ozzie who traded for veteran receiver Anquan Boldin in 2010; that worked well for both parties. It was Ozzie who signed veteran receiver Steve Smith to a three-year deal in 2014; that worked well for both parties.
Boldin was 30 when Ozzie acquired him, and Smith was 35. Both receivers enjoyed three productive years in Baltimore.
Dez reportedly wants to only play for a contender, which, in the NFL, who knows what that means? His preference is to remain in the NFC East so he can extend his middle finger to Garrett ‘n’ Friends twice a season. But such a scenario remains unlikely.
He’s 29, and he should have another year or two left. Maybe three. He was never going to age as well as Smith or Boldin, but he’s not a washed up bum.
Much of the criticism pointed at Dez in 2017 was valid; he had a harder time gaining separation at the line, and no longer had what made him so dynamic in 2014 when he was an All-Pro. He missed Tony Romo’s experience, trust, and accuracy.
But Dez will fight through a bear attack; he might actually beat the bear. He can win 50-50 balls. His teammates liked him. He’s not going to mail it in.
The coaches were tired of him, and the No. 2 Jones at The Star (Stephen, not Charlotte) saw Dez for what he was to the bottom line: a depreciating asset.
Money wise, it was time to go. Personality wise, Garrett was tired of it all.
And now Dez sits unemployed playing on Twitter, and likely video games, as NFL training camps begin.
Don’t believe me. Don’t believe Garrett. And I am fairly certain no one has believed Jerry Jones when it comes to a football player in about 20 years.
But if Newsome says Dez can play, Dez can play.
We’re going to miss him here in our infernal heat, but some team will enjoy his services for the next year or so.
Go forth and throw up that X young man.
We will enjoy every one.
This story was originally published July 24, 2018 at 7:00 AM.