Head coach Jason Garrett is making it pretty clear that if Dez Bryant does not practice then he will not play on Sunday as the Dallas Cowboys face the New York Giants. The wide receiver has been deemed by owner Jerry Jones as healthy and probable for Week 7 play, but Bryant has yet to take the field with his team as he was held out of Wednesday's session. With the clock ticking, all signs point to Bryant sitting on Sunday.
According to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, Bryant did not practice and Garrett is making no claims that he takes the field Sunday. Bryant has been out since Sept. 14 after breaking his foot in the season opener. The Cowboys had placed a four-to-six week healing process for the star, but it might take longer than that especially if Bryant is not practicing.
"I think it's as simple as, 'Is he ready to play physically?' " Garrett said, via ESPN.com. "There's a lot of different ways to evaluate that. He obviously is the one who will have the biggest say in it based on how he's feeling with the work that we're giving him. But we'll observe him as well. We'll observe him as coaches. We'll observe him as medical people. And just see where he is and we'll make our best judgment for him and for our team."
With Bryant likely out for Sunday, Matt Cassel will try and work Terrance Williams and Jason Witten as much as possible. The two receivers will be the backbone of the receiving game along with Joseph Randle for passing downs. According to the Dallas Morning News, Christine Michael might be taking first-team reps right now, but Randle is still the assumed starter for the Cowboys considering his experience in the offense. However, fans can expect to see a lot more of Michael in the game.
The Cowboys still have two more practices before heading north. Bryant could try and take the field on Thursday, but his chemistry with Cassel might not be there yet. The quarterback did not join until Tony Romo got injured which means he has no experience throwing with Bryant while he has gotten plenty of work with Williams, Witten and even Cole Beasley who will be big in the game. Garrett wants Cassel and Bryant to build some chemistry before putting them out on the field together.
"Time on task, guys playing together is important, particularly the quarterback and the receiver," Garrett said, via ESPN.com. "Things typically don't come up perfectly every time, that's not a blackboard game.