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Dez Bryant and the Dallas Cowboys have been in long-term contract negotiations for quite some time now, and it seems like the talks will never end. Signing the Pro Bowl wide receiver to a contract extension should be the No. 1 priority for Dallas, seeing as receivers like Bryant don’t exactly grow on trees.
In order to get more time to discuss a deal, Dallas placed the franchise tag on Bryant back in March, but the wideout has yet to sign it. For that reason alone, skipping OTAs should not be seen as a big deal. Although Bryant did make an appearance at the team facility during the first week of OTAs, he did not participate in team activities.
Having not signed his franchise tender yet, Bryant would be putting himself at great risk if he did participate in on-field drills. Say he makes a hard cut and tears his ACL. Not only would he not be protected by the franchise tag, but his chances of getting a long-term deal would plummet.
I have no issue with Bryant skipping OTAs, as they are voluntary, and Cowboys fans shouldn’t either. Football is a tough, physical sport, even in no-pads drills in practice. Freak accidents happen all the time. Just look around the NFL and see how many players have already gone down with injuries — fairly serious ones, at that.
If training camp arrives and Bryant still isn’t present, then fans have a reason to be worried. Holdouts are never beneficial to the team, and not having Bryant present would have a negative effect on the offense. But even with his brief appearance at OTAs, it leads me to believe he’d be present at training camp as well, with or without a contract.
