The Dallas Cowboys and Dez Bryant are working on a contract heading into the Wednesday deadline and if the sides do not agree on a long term deal, Bryant has threatened to holdout into the season and it comes as reports have Bryant looking for Calvin Johnson money from Jerry Jones in his new deal.
Bryant and the Cowboys have been talking all offseason about a contract and while it was reported last week that the two sides were "close" on a deal, there has been nothing announced as of Tuesday night. According to Dez Bryant himself on Twitter, the wide receiver has threatened to sit out of team activities if he does not get a long term contract. Bryant reportedly is willing to sit out regular season games if he does not get a deal, but there is a chance that it's only a threat and not realistic.
Players have pulled this move before, as Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk points out that Vincent Jackson did it in 2010 and sat out 10 games. The Cowboys likely are not worried, as Ian Rapoport at NFL.com reports that Bryant has been "at the facility countless times this offseason, not under contract" and that the team doesn't "buy" his threat to sit out. Bryant can't sit down until the season starts, but he can hold out of camp and so the July 15 deadline could spark the sides to get a deal done.
There is another storyline in all of this, as there have been reports that the NFLPA thinks the Cowboys and the Denver Broncos "colluded" on the contract negotiations with Bryant and Demaryius Thomas. Thomas and the Broncos have not been able to come to an agreement and according to Pro Football Talk, the "collusion evidence" regards talks between the teams about Calvin Johnson's contract, as both players reportedly are looking in the range of that deal to negotiate with their respective teams.
The guaranteed money in that deal likely is what the players are looking at, as it is at $48 million, but Florio reports the teams have pushed back about that number because it was based on the now-changed "rookie wage scale." Bryant was hit with the franchise tag this offseason and he has an option to sign a one year deal for just under $13 million for this season.
Rapoport reported on Tuesday night that a source said that "we have a long way to go" regarding contract negotiations. Rapoport writes that the Cowboys have raised their offer after the "original offer of $10M avg over 6 years" and now they are higher than the tag number of $12.8 million annually. Bryant can get the one year tender deal if he skips training camp and then signs later and shows up, but if he sits out for real, he will have to be prepared to miss 10 games this season. Bryant is coming off of a monster year and clearly he is looking to get locked up with big money on a long term deal.
Check here for more updates on Dez Bryant and the Cowboys contract situation.
