The Dallas Cowboys have been working on a contract with Dez Bryant and that remains a priority for the team heading into minicamp and training camp and this comes as Jerry Jones may look at adding another running back behind Darren McFadden and Joseph Randle for depth even after signing Lache Seastrunk, with players like Ray Rice, Chris Johnson, Felix Jones and Ben Tate as potential options.
The Cowboys let DeMarco Murray walk in free agency and that has left the team with enough money to sign Bryant long term. The sides have been talking this offseason, but so far no deal has come close to being reached. According to Pro Football Talk, Cowboys executive Stephen Jones said that the team is confident that a deal will get done and that the team plans on "making a push" to sign Bryant ahead of the mid-July deadline for franchise tag players.
The Cowboys have a desire to keep Bryant and he showed some good faith by showing up to OTA workouts with the team. Jones said that he "knows" Bryant will be a Cowboy this year and that is because the team is fine if they need to use the one year tender on the franchise tag if Bryant signs. The team would pay Bryant near $13 million for this year and they could continue working on a deal through the season and into next year. Bryant reportedly was unhappy getting hit with the tag, but now that he has shown up to team activities, it could mean a deal is on the horizon.
The Cowboys have all the desire to keep Bryant, but some reports from earlier in the offseason said the Cowboys wanted "off the field" protection in the deal. That could be a main sticking point for Bryant and he is coming in after a few monster seasons and is looking to get paid. Demaryius Thomas is also on the franchise tag and he has not yet signed a deal and once he signs or Bryant signs, things could move quickly for the other player.
The Cowboys also could look at adding another running back this offseason heading into camp, as Ryan Williams and Darren McFadden have both been banged up. The Cowboys signed Lache Seastrunk to a free agent deal to come in for depth and he could be an option to stick around if he performs well with McFadden and Williams injured. McFadden is dealing with a hamstring issue and it's not considered serious, but with his injury history, the Cowboys could look at adding some insurance.
According to John Clayton at ESPN.com, Ray Rice could get some looks from teams as training camp gets closer, as many have started to say that he deserves a second chance. The Browns were mentioned as an option and with the Cowboys already signing Greg Hardy, they may have no problems going after Rice. The team already worked out players like Ben Tate, Felix Jones and Daniel Thomas and they could be fits over Rice for the Cowboys heading into camp. McFadden played in all 16 games for the Raiders last season for the first time in his career.
