NFC Notes: Dez Bryant, Falcons, Lions, & Saints

Dez Bryant

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones explained that WR Dez Bryant underwent a recent procedure where he had stem cells from his hip injected into his injured ankle in the hope of aiding his recovery.

“It will do two things,” Jones said of the injection, via Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. “It has the potential to improve the healing time but more important gives him and everyone more confidence that when he comes back, at whatever the time is, it will be sounder and I think that was the overriding reason for doing it. It will be sounder even if he kept the same timeframe. It could easily speed it up, but if not, what you’re always going to be worried about [is] if you wait another week maybe you’ve got less chance of reinjuring it or basically rushing it. That will give us more peace of mind on rushing it.”

“He’s shown exceptional in his healing,” Jones said. “I feel the procedure and how he’s doing gives us a good feeling that if we feel like he can handle the sensitivity then you feel like you aren’t being too aggressive in letting him get back out there. That’s the big thing.”

Falcons

Falcons veteran WR Roddy White said he’ll be a “Falcon for life” despite recent reports that other teams may have interest in trading for him.

“I haven’t heard any of that,” White said, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m a Falcon. I’ll be a Falcon for life. I’ve dedicated everything I’ve got to this team and this organization. I’m going to continue to do that. I’m going to continue each and every week to get better, be a better football player and try to win.”

Lions

Lions HC Jim Caldwell confirmed Matthew Stafford will remain the team’s quarterback, despite being benched in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals.

“Really, it’s like a pitcher not having a very good day,” Caldwell said, via Michael Rothstein of ESPN. “He’s still our starter. There will be no issues there, so there is no quarterback controversy or anything of that nature.”

“But I know one thing. We’ve got to get better. This was poor, just not the kind of outing that we’d like to see around here.”

Saints

Saints QB Drew Brees expressed frustration with how the season has gone for them over their first five games.

“It’s not like you say we’re talented or we’ve got this young talent, but man, it’s just that we don’t have good guys that’s not coming together,” Brees said, via Larry Holder of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “That’s just not the case. We have great guys. We have great leaders.

“Guys want to do the right thing. Guys want to be great. So it’s frustrating to sit here at 1-4 and say we’re not getting the production out of that. We feel like we’ve got the right pieces in place. They just haven’t come together yet. And it will.”