The Dallas Cowboys got their guy. The franchise had an up and down offseason mainly due to contracts and salary cap space. After losing out on DeMarco Murray to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys found themselves at risk of also being without their top wide receiver as Dez Bryant threatened a lengthy holdout if he did not get a long-term contract. However, they avoided all issues by signing Bryant at the deadline.
According to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, Bryant and the Cowboys have agreed to a contract worth five years and $70 million that includes $45 million in guaranteed money. The deal comes after several bouts of negotiations in which the receiver turned down numerous offers and then was forced into the franchise tag designation. Bryant reportedly gave the Cowboys an ultimatum and said if they did not sign him to an extension he would skip all of training camp and potentially miss regular season games. Now Dallas has the distraction eliminated and can focus on continuing to shape the roster.
With Bryant back in uniform, the focus shifts back to the run game, any area of concern before the wide receiver contract talks took over the headlines. The Cowboys let the league's leading rusher leave for the Philadelphia Eagles and replaced him with Darren McFadden, a running back on his third chance in the NFL. McFadden is coming off a very unimpressive stint with the Oakland Raiders, but Jerry Jones is confident he can bounce back behind the offensive line of the Cowboys.
McFadden started his tenure with the Cowboys off with an injury. He missed part of OTAs and minicamp with hamstring problems, something all-too familiar to Raiders' fans. This caused ESPN's John Clayton to report the Cowboys as a potential landing spot for Ray Rice. However, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, there is no league interest in Rice with training camp around the corner. Unless a major injury were to take place before the season, Rice is likely to go unsigned and unnoticed this offseason.
Cowboys' vice president Stehpen Jones told the media via the Dallas Morning News that they have a short-list of veteran running backs they will take a look at if the need presents itself. Chris Johnson, Steven Jackson and Pierre Thomas are the best available at this moment and would help with depth behind McFadden and Joseph Randle. Bryant's contract means the Cowboys will not hand anything out greater than a veteran's contract which Rice might not accept.
