One of the reasons that Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant was still available for the Dallas Cowboys to select him with the 24th pick in the NFL draft is that teams are concerned about Bryant’s propensity for tardiness.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in an interview on ESPN Friday afternoon that he’s not particularly concerned about that.
“We’ve had a few players over the years -- great ones -- that were tardy a few times,” Jones said with a laugh. “So maybe we can manage to overlook a little tardiness sometimes.”
As Jones laughed on camera, former Cowboys wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson could also be heard laughing in the ESPN studio. Jones laughed some more when he heard Johnson laughing, and he clearly isn’t concerned about Bryant’s ability to show up to practices, meetings and games on time.
But maybe he should be.
At Oklahoma State Bryant was reportedly “consistently late” for team activities, including games. Even Bryant’s staunchest defender, his mentor Deion Sanders, said of Bryant, “He’s got to have a better regard for time.”
Here’s betting that the first time the first-round rookie shows up late to practice, the veteran players who got there on time won’t be laughing.