Dez Bryant and the Dallas Cowboys have been in contract talks and rumors about a video alleging some Ray Rice-like behavior could be slowing things down and recent news in the situation saw the NFL release an incident report that allegedly involved a woman being dragged from a car in a Wal-Mart parking lot by her hair in 2011 and while it may not have been Bryant doing it, he is connected to the case in the report.
Bryant is coming off of another strong season and the Cowboys have been working on a long term contract with the receiver, but thinks have been moving slowly. According to Pro Football Talk, the NFL released an incident report about a 2011 event that happened in a Wal-Mart parking lot that may have included Bryant. The report says that a woman was seen "being dragged" from a car across a parking lot and towards another car.
The report does not say that Bryant was this person and says that someone called the police about the issue. When the police showed up, the Mercedes car that the woman was being dragged from was empty with the doors open. No one was present at the time until two men, Carl King and Christopher Mitchell, said they were called by the woman to get the car, which she referred to as "her" Mercedes. The car was registered to Bryant, as was the car driven by the two men.
Later, the incident describes, a Bentley car pulled up to the parking lot with the alleged victim and Dez Bryant. The woman later said that she was in an argument with a man names Alex Penson and that she was not assaulted or injured. She also said that she was dropped off at a friend's house and later called Bryant to come get her.
On Twitter, Mike Fisher, who is a reporter in the area, wrote that "crtainly possible (alleged) extortionist 'pal' has celphone vid that shows Dez, yes." There have been some rumors and reports from Pro Football Talk and other sites that Bryant's "ex-friends" are the ones shopping the video and are looking to get paid. Bryant referred to those people and the video vaguely on social media, saying that he doesn't let people take advantage of him anymore and that it's "BS".
Over the past few years the Cowboys have tries to reel in Bryant from his off the field issues and it appeared to have been working. While the incident is from 2011 and Bryant also had an issue with his mother, he had been a good citizen with the team over the past couple years and appeared to be continuing in that direction. The Cowboys now have to decide if that was real and also about the impact if a video is ever released. The team already looked at the franchise tag as an option and now they could follow through with that, as that would allow the team to wait and see what happens.
The Cowboys come into the offseason after winning the NFC East and they have both Bryant and DeMarco Murray hitting the free agent market. The issues with Bryant could help Murray get his deal done, but right now both players are a bit up in the air. The Cowboys ranked second in the league in rushing yards per game last season and 16th in passing yards, but Bryant finished with another strong season and losing him would be very tough.
