The Cowboys fell short of the playoffs again in 2013, but wide receiver Dez Bryant was pretty low on the list of reasons why.
Bryant had 93 catches for 1,233 yards and 13 touchdowns, his second straight year with more than 90 catches and 1,200 receiving yards. Bryant has also scored 25 touchdowns over his last 32 games, a standard that puts him in line for a fat extension with his contract expiring after next season. Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com reports that no contract talks have started yet, but Bryant said over the weekend that he isn’t thinking about playing anywhere else.
“Hell no,” Bryant said. “I don’t even think about leaving Dallas. I’m Dallas forever.”
While both sides would like an extension, it won’t come about easily. The Cowboys are going to be tight against the cap and they’d also like to extend left tackle Tyron Smith’s contract, leaving them with some work to do on the roster if they’re going to lock up either player before the end of the 2014 season.
Should they fail to get it done, Bryant would be a prime candidate to get a franchise tag in a year’s time although there’s plenty of time before the Cowboys would have to contemplate going that route.