Update:
Mike Silver of NFL Media confirms the previous report that Cowboys WRย Dez Bryantย could sit out of the season opener if the two sides don’t have a long-term contract in place this summer.
- A source tells Silver: “This is no rumor; it’s legit.”
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ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that Cowboys WRย Dez Bryant is contemplating not reporting to the teamย for the start of the regular season opener unless they are able to get a long-term contract in place before theย July 15 deadline.
Bryant has yet to sign his franchise tender, but hisย agent Tom Condon stressed that their goal remains to get a long-term deal in place.
“I’m just not going to comment about that,” said Condon. “Our goal is still to get something done on a long-term basis by the deadline.”
A source tells Mortensen thatย “pulling an Emmitt Smith,” which is a reference to Smith holding out of the first two games of the 1993 season for a new contract, could be a possibility.
Cowboys VPย of player personnel Stephen Jones said last week that they are still planning to make a push to get Bryantย locked up this summer, but there hasn’t been any reported progress between the two parties.
โWe know he will be a Cowboy this year,โ Jones said, via Todd Archer of ESPN Dallas. โIf he ends up playing this year under the tag we will go right back to work again next year. Now would we like to get a long term deal on him? Of course we would. Weโll work hard to do that and Iโm sure weโll make a push at some point and see if we can make it work. If not, hopefully he will understand itโs difficult to make a deal at this point and heโll come in and get ready to play.โ
Dallas used their franchise tag on Bryant a few months ago, which means they’re looking at paying him a salary ofย $12.823 millionย fully guaranteed for the 2015 season. A long-term extension would offer them some immediate cap relief, but all indications have been that the Cowboys are approaching this situation with a great deal of caution.
Bryant, 26,ย caught 88ย passes for 1,320 yards receiving and 16ย touchdowns over the course of 16ย games for Dallas last year.ย Pro Football Focusย has Bryantย rated as the No. 2ย wide receiverย in the league.
We’ll have more regarding Bryant and the Cowboys as the news is available.
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