Jerry Jones & Dez Bryant Have Met, But Cowboys Haven’t Asked Him To Take Pay Cut

According to Ian Rapoport and Janes Slater of the NFL Network, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and WR Dez Bryant had their much-anticipated meeting prior to the start of the 2018 league year.

However, the Cowboys reportedly have not reached out to his agent Kim Miale about a potential restructured contract that could come with a pay cut. Rapoport adds that Bryant’s standing with the team hasn’t changed.

Many expect the Cowboys to ask Bryant to take a pay reduction, seeing has his production has dropped the past few years and is no longer in line with the kind of money he’s making.

Even so, Jones told reporters a few weeks ago that he expects him to back in Dallas for the 2018 season.

“As we sit right here, yes,” Jones said, per Jon Machota, when asked if he expects Bryant to still be with the Cowboys a year from now.

Jones added that he’s confident he and Bryant can have productive conversations this offseason about his contract. Jon Machota says it’s clear from listening to Jones that he wants Dez to remain a Cowboy and still envisions him as a top receiver.

According to Rapoport, the Cowboys most likely would consider asking Bryant to take a pay cut or do something with the final year of his contract as opposed to releasing him outright. Rapoport adds that moving on from Bryant is likely a “last resort” for Dallas.

Bryant, 29, is a former first-round pick of the Cowboys back in 2010. He’s currently in the third year of his five-year, $70 million contract that included $45 million guaranteed and stands to make base salaries of $12.5 million over the final two years of the agreement.

According to OverTheCap.com, releasing Bryant next year would free up $8.5 million of available cap space while creating $8 million in dead money.

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’ll have more regarding Bryant as the news is available.