The Dallas Cowboys have Dez Bryant and his contract situation as the main priority heading into training camp, as the wide receiver has threatened a holdout into Week 1 of the season and this comes as the team may look to cut some of Brandon Carr's salary to help with the cap hit, while Joseph Randle could start in camp ahead of Darren McFadden on offense.
The Cowboys used the franchise tag on Bryant earlier in the offseason and the two sides now have a few more weeks before the deadline to reach a long term agreement. Bryant was reportedly unhappy with the use of the franchise tag, but early on it appeared the two sides were talking. According to the Dallas Morning News, Bryant has "participated in a promotional photo shoot for NBC" for the first week of the season, which is the game he has reportedly threatened to sit out if he doesn't get a contract.
Bryant showed up and made an appearance during OTAs and minicamp and that could be a sign that things are moving in the right direction. There have been reports this offseason that the sides are not close on a deal and there is chance that Bryant could sit out for training camp. Jerry Jones said to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he has "no doubt" that Bryant will be on the field for the Cowboys in Week 1. Bryant's agent Tom Condon said that Bryant would be willing to miss games over his contract situation last week.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Cowboys and Bryant last had discussions "10-14 days ago" and that could mean the sides are waiting until closer to the deadline to get a deal done. Andrew Brandt at SI and the MMQB often preaches the line "deadline spur action" when it comes to franchise tag contracts and that is the situation that could play out here. Bryant is one of the most important players for the Cowboys and he is coming in after a monster season in which he had 88 catches for 1320 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The Cowboys are looking to free up some cap space to help sign Bryant and according to the Dallas Morning News, Brandon Carr could see his contract get restructured. Carr has a contract that counts over $10 million on the salary cap and the team could have made him a June 1 cut, but it looks like he will be sticking around. The team signed back Orlando Scandrick and drafted Byron Jones and Carr could see his salary cap number come down, but he has been reluctant to take a pay cut this offseason.
Heading into training camp the Cowboys have Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden at the top of the depth chart at running back and Randle looks to have the edge to start. According to the Dallas Morning News, the starting job is Randle's "to lose" and he has had the lead as the number one back in "most" of the workouts this offseason. Both players had reps with the first team offense, but the Cowboys have more confidence that Randle can stay healthy and he comes in after averaging over six yards per carry last season.