The Dallas Cowboys are running out of time to get Dez Bryant under contract which is leaving a lot of other wide receivers without a contract as well. With a deadline of July 15th, the Cowboys are trying to determine if Bryant's deal will exceed the contract Calvin Johnson signed with the Detroit Lions or sit right below it. He is expected to be the first domino to fall as confidence is diminishing on a contract for Demaryius Thomas.
All eyes are on the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos to get contracts finalized for Bryant and Thomas. Once they are signed, Julio Jones and AJ Green will follow. Over July 4th weekend, it was reported that contract talks with the Cowboys and Bryant were beginning to heat up. However, ProFootballTalk.com followed that up by saying there is "literally nothing going on" with Bryant's contract. The Dallas wide receiver has threatened a lengthy holdout should he not be signed by the deadline and optimism is not high on things working out.
According to ESPN's Jeff Legwold, the feeling is the same with the Denver Broncos and Thomas. The wide receiver held out of all offseason workouts as he made it very clear he was unhappy regarding the franchise tag, but negotiations are not progressing. The Broncos are trying to hold out and wait for Bryant to sign his deal in order to set the market, but that is not moving any better. Peyton Manning has made it very clear that he wants Thomas signed in order for the two to begin getting to work.
"He has played extremely well his first few years of his career, in my opinion has established himself as one of the top receivers in the NFL and, like I said, I want what's best for him. ... Hopefully there's that happy medium for both sides and we can get him in here soon and put that all behind everybody," Manning said, via ESPN.com.
Two players not worried about the negotiations are Jones and Green who are entering the final years of their respective contracts. Jones has made it clear that he will not hold out while negotiating an extension with Atlanta while Green told the media that he does not mind being patient and waiting things out.
"You know I watch ESPN all the time, and that's all they talk about," Green said, via ESPN.com. "But like I say, I'm just here to play football. My body of work will speak for itself. I don't get into all the 'I need a contract' stuff. I'm not here for money. I'm not broke. So I'm fine. I can wait until the end of the year to get a contract, but I know that time is coming."