For the first time in nearly four months, star wide receiver Dez Bryant’s agent has reportedly met with the Dallas Cowboys to discuss a potential long-term deal.
ESPN’s Todd Archer is indicating that the two sides sat down in a face-to-face meeting some time over the past week. This comes as Bryant and the Cowboys face a July 15 deadline to agree to a long-term deal.
Bryant, 26, has yet to sign off on a franchise tag tender that would pay him $12.8 million—a figure that would make him the second highest-paid receiver in the NFL behind Calvin Johnson.
The issue for Bryant has long been the security that comes with a long-term deal. If he were to suffer a catastrophic injury this upcoming season, there would be no guarantees beyond that $12.8 million.
This meeting comes on the heels of reports that Bryant is considering sitting out the team’s regular season opener against the New York Giants. It also comes at a time when things were seemingly moving in a more negative direction between the two sides. Always an enigmatic personality, Bryant has taken to social media to take shots at the Cowboys over the past several months.
Now that the two sides have actually sat down face-to-face, Bryant and the Cowboys will look to work something out while facing a rapidly approaching deadline. Considering Bryant was seen as the team’s minicamp earlier this month—not a requirement for a player without a contract—maybe things are finally starting to trend in the right direction here.
The star receiver is coming off a 2014 campaign that saw him tally 88 receptions for 1,320 yards and a league-leading 18 touchdowns. His production surely does indicate that a long-term deal should be in the works.
Photo: USA Today Sports