On Friday, word emerged that Cowboys receiver Patrick Crayton has demanded to be released.
Per Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com, Crayton’s agent says that the message was conveyed to the Cowboys after the draft. “When [we] inquired about a release, the Cowboys declined to grant such a request at the time,” said agent Fred Lyles. “However, the situation may change. The Cowboys would prefer a trade.”
As we’ve previously pointed out, it may be hard for the Cowboys to unload Crayton’s $2 million salary. Crayton wants out in part because he suspects that the Cowboys will keep him around through training camp as an insurance policy, dumping him before the regular-season begins if each of the other top wideouts emerge from training camp and the preseason unscathed.
It’s also possible that the Cowboys will first try to squeeze Crayton into taking less money before dumping him.
Rosenthal has observed that he believes Crayton would be the ideal option at slot receiver, with Roy Williams being the insurance policy behind Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. If the Cowboys share that view, they apparently haven’t tried to convey it to Crayton. If they have, Crayton apparently doesn’t believe them.