Dez Bryant Says He Was Open To Taking Pay Cut, Believes “Garrett Guys” Played Role In Release

Free agent WR Dez Bryant tells Jane Slater of the NFL Network that he believes “Garrett guys” played a role in his release from the Cowboys.

“I’ll say this right here. I believe that “Garrett guys”. I would say that,” Bryant said when asked if some teammates had a role in the Cowboys’ decision to release him.

“I won’t put no names out, but they know and I want them to know. I know,” Bryant said. “I’ll shoot them a text message and let them know. Little do they know is, you know, they can wear that “C” all they want to, but in that locker room, they know they run and they talk to. They know who they communicate with. Everybody knows where the real love is at. I’m not throwing anybody under the bus, but that’s the difference between me and them.”

Bryant says he believes the decision to release him was difficult for owner Jerry Jones to make.

“Jerry Jones, he loved me to death and I loved him too,” Bryant said. “I honestly believe in my heart that this was a hard decision for him. But when it’s five, six guys at a table against one guy, you got to do it.”

The Cowboys never offered Bryant the opportunity to take a pay cut to be back in Dallas, but he says he would have been open to it had they offered.

“The only question I was going to have for that was: Even if I did take a pay cut, am I going to be able to come in to work and be happy? Will I be able to enjoy it? Because I already got a feeling that this person don’t like me, this person don’t like me,” Bryant said.

Bryant has made it clear that he wants to play for an NFC East team (NFLTR). However, it remains to be seen if either the Eagles, Redskins or Giants are interested in bringing him in.

It’s worth mentioning that signing Bryant to a contract won’t impact a team’s 2019 compensatory picks, given that he was released this offseason.

Bryant, 29, is a former first-round pick of the Cowboys back in 2010. He was in the third year of his five-year, $70 million contract that included $45 million guaranteed and was set to make base salaries of $12.5 million over the final two years of the agreement when Dallas released him in a move that freed up $8.5 million of available cap space.

In 2017, Bryant has appeared in 15 games for the Cowboys and has caught 66 passes for 814 yards receiving and six touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 45 receiver out of 116 qualifying players.

We have him featured in our Top 50 Available 2018 NFL Free Agents list.