The Dallas Cowboys aren’t ruling out bringing back a familiar face who was, at one time, their star wide receiver, even if he hasn’t taken the field in close to two years due to injuries, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer.
Cowboys’ owner and general manager Jerry Jones said that the team wouldn’t rule out bringing back former wide receiver Dez Bryant, despite a rather dramatic exit when released back in 2017 and despite the injuries Bryant has dealt with in recent years.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot in the shower,” Jones said of Bryant. “I have been. I’m not dismissing it. I don’t want to sound like it should be dismissed by saying it. I’m thinking about it.”
Bryant, 31, has been working out near the team facility in Frisco, Texas as he attempts to return to the field in 2020 after being sidelined for two years due to a torn Achilles tendon. Bryant suffered the injury during his first practice with the New Orleans Saints back in 2018 and was not on an NFL roster in 2019, but is primed to make his return this upcoming season.
“He’s had a serious injury,” Jones said. “He’s been out a little bit, but Dez is a great player and the obvious [question] is the obvious: Is he still a great player? We know Dez better than anybody. I know him better than, I’m going to say anybody.”
Bryant has reached out to the Cowboys, specifically executive team president Stephen Jones, during the offseason regarding a return, but nothing has materialized to this point.
Bryant didn’t have the best exit from the team, as he had harsh words for teammates such as linebacker Sean Lee and center Travis Frederick following his release, which was largely due to his contract and decline in play.
Jones said that those issues “are reparable. They really are because the very best of Dez is what I remember. The very best of him. I remember a lot of good things [that] far overshadow the negatives for me as a player. Now the question is, can he perform and can he overcome that injury and can he get in the kind of shape that it takes to be available?”
For now, there seems to be a chance that Bryant could return to the NFL this season, and perhaps it will be for the Cowboys.
Only time will tell.