Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said he expects wide receiver Dez Bryant to be back with the team next season. His son, Stephen, seems far less married to that idea.
Stephen Jones, the team’s executive V.P. and CEO, has been critical of Bryant in certain instances this offseason. He noted that Bryant needs to understand his demeanor can have a negative effect on his teammates and called some of his emotional outbursts a “distraction.” Stephen stayed on message when discussing Bryant on Thursday night.
“No one wants to compete and get after it more than Dez,” Jones said, via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. “At the same time, we all know this is a business where everyone had to be accountable…We’re going to be grinding it out trying to understand what is in our best interests of our business.”
From a business standpoint, moving on from Bryant could easily be the prudent decision. His production in 2017 wouldn’t seem to justify a $12.5 million salary this fall, particularly when Dallas would save $8.5 million against the salary cap in releasing him. However, Jerry still gets to call the shots and if he wants Bryant on the team, he’ll be on the team.
Stephen hasn’t come close to be as certain as his father regarding Bryant’s future in Dallas. Maybe he’ll be able to sway Jerry’s thoughts like he did with Johnny Manziel several years ago in the draft. For now, it sees as though the Jones brain trust continued to have mixed ideas about Bryant’s future with the Cowboys.