There is a lot of pressure on the Dallas Cowboys this season. The team simply cannot finish 8-8 again and miss out on the playoffs. Owner and head cowboy in charge, Jerry Jones, has made attempts this offseason to put together an improved roster that includes depth at the quarterback position and youth on the defense. The next biggest thing will be health and both Tony Romo and Dez Bryant stress they are feeling their best in years.
Bryant told ESPNDallas.com that he has worked extremely hard this offseason to be in the best shape of his life. According to the wide receiver, that while he has been staple at NBA games and has traveled the world, his workouts have been the No. 1 priority.
"I am in the best shape that I've ever been," Bryant told ESPNDallas.com. "Trust me, I've been working hard. I've been working six days out of the week. Today is my off day, but I'm going to the facility right now. That's all I've been doing. This year is special."
Bryant believes he is on the verge of a big season in Dallas. Last year he put up career highs with 93 catches and 13 touchdowns off 1,233 yards. Anything more than that will be considered a big win for Dallas. However, while Bryant plans on being at his best this season, the Cowboys are still looking for other wide receiver options to help Romo perform better.
Dallas drafted Devin Street on Saturday to add depth and youth to the wide receiver corps, but head coach Jason Garrett would like to add at least one more player to the roster. After adding LaRon Byrd, L'Damian Washington and Chris Boyd in free agency, could a return of Miles Austin still be in the cards?
"We love Miles Austin, we really do," Garrett said, via the team website. "Obviously, drafting Devin Street (Saturday), we addressed the receiver position a little bit. But Miles has been a really good player for us. The economics of his situation really factored into the decision we made with him, coupled with his injuries. We'll look at the landscape when we get done. Miles is a guy that we have great respect for as a person and as a player."
Austin was designated a post-June 1 cut in order to free up $5.5 million in cap space that the Cowboys desperately needed. He had originally signed a giant six-year, $54 million contract back in 2010, but injury issues hurt his status and made in replaceable. However, Romo will need all the help he can get in order to finally bring the postseason to Dallas.
Romo is also feeling at his best after offseason back surgery. There was plenty of speculation that Romo could be struggling in his recovery. The Cowboys continued to be linked to Johnny Manziel in the draft to potentially take over the franchise, but they never made a move. Romo notes that the reported interest in the quarterback did not hurt his confidence one bit.
"We did it, everybody had a visit with him along the way," Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones said, via Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com. "Jerry [Jones] included, myself included, and told him how this is his football team and how much we think of him and with all the rumors flying around not to pay attention to that. [Romo's] response is, as you might expect from Tony, it was 'Well if you decide to, it ain't going to matter, there's not anybody out there that can beat me out.'"