The Dallas Cowboys still have issues on their hands regarding their offense after limited moves in free agency. After losing DeMarco Murray to the Philadelphia Eagles, the biggest signing Dallas made was to acquire Darren McFadden following his release from the Oakland Raiders. Now with their run game in question, the Cowboys are going to be reliant on Dez Bryant and hoping he does not hold out as contract negotiations continue.
Bryant expected to be inked a nice long-term contract at this point in the offseason. He and the Cowboys had been negotiating a deal for some time now and so far those talks have gone nowhere. The Cowboys then announced Bryant would be the proud owner of a franchise tag, something he is likely less than thrilled about. However, team vice president Stephen Jones does not expect Bryant to put on some kind of holdout like most players do.
"We have had good contact with him," Jones said, via the Fort Worth Star Telegram . "We fully expect him to show up. We haven't heard otherwise. He hasn't come in to sign the guarantee. The day he signs it is guaranteed. But we fully expect him to show up, come in and work out. We haven't been told any different."
Dallas has until July 15 to get the receiver under a new deal. Until then he is currently inked to a one-year contract worth $12.7 million in guaranteed money. That is certainly not bad for a year of work, but Bryant wants the long-term commitment. According to his agent Tom Condon, Bryant will consider holding out of spring workouts and training camp if that is what it takes to send a message. Jerry Jones took the same approach saying he was not worried about Bryant making a big issue about the contract, understanding Dallas intends to keep him around.
"I'm not worried about that at all, and it's because of how much he loves the game, how much he knows that preparation, practice, all of that improves him," Jones said. "He's at a time in his career where he's physically still very much improving, can get better. The biggest reason I want a long-term agreement with Dez is so we'll have a deal with him for a long term - but not as far as impacting what we're doing this year in terms of what Dez's performance will be or what we are as a team."
Jones is also left defending the contract of McFadden as many claim the veteran is nowhere near the talent Murray is. With trades for Adrian Peterson and Matt Forte getting denied, Dallas must bank on a rookie like Todd Gurley or TJ Yeldon for help.
