Dallas Cowboys: Dez Bryant Won't Need to Carry Anything for Roy Williams in 2011

It all started with Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver Dez Bryant refusing to carry the shoulder pads of fellow wideout, Roy Williams. The two players got off on the wrong foot right off the bat.

A year later, the Dallas Cowboys have told Williams, a former Longhorn, his services are no longer needed. Bryant was probably all too willing to carry Williams' bags out to his car for him as soon as he heard the news.
Owner Jerry Jones has not only released what could quite possibly be the worst trade for this franchise in quite some time, but he's now handed the keys to the wide receiving corps to a guy who can't seem to keep his name out of the news. And not a good way, either.
There was no surprise that the Cowboys made the move they did although from what was said over the radio air waves earlier in the week, it sounded as if Dallas was going to take a $12 million cap hit if they did end up releasing Williams.
But, thanks to a certain rule that allowed the team to make the move retroactive to June 1st, that $12 million cap hit turned in to a $5 million pay day for the team.

Bryant will not be trusted as the number one option for quarterback, Tony Romo, regardless of what anyone else wants to say about no-name turned star wide receiver, Miles Austin.
All the problems the Cowboys have had with Dez Bryant and all the times they've had to do some public relations work to cover for yet another stupid decision, it seems as if Jones is ready to let the young athlete show his potential on the field.
They are now apparently ready to allow Bryant to show fans he can put the off the field drama behind him and become the star Jerry Jones believes he can be. He did draft the young wide receiver out of Oklahoma State for a reason, right?
Bryant and Williams weren't exactly the best of friends. In fact, I'm not even sure you could say they were acquaintances. And now with the team deciding to move on without the veteran wide receiver, Bryant is now laughing all the way to the perverbial bank.

Now Bryant is saying to himself, "see, I knew he wasn't worthy of me carrying his pads."
Was this the smartest move for the Cowboys to make? Was Williams that bad that they just didn't believe he belonged with this team for the 2011 season?
That question could have mroe answers than one and it could be a debate that could be completely one sided. There is one thing we know for sure.
It's certainly not the first time Roy Williams has been dismissed.

Dallas Cowboys: Dez Bryant Gets Himself Into More Hot Water

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One has to wonder what it's going to take for the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones to throw up their hands and admit, maybe we shouldn't have drafted this guy after all.

Dez Bryant, the Cowboys first round draft pick back in 2010, has made a habit of getting himself into trouble during the offseason.
A run in with police at North Park Mall in Dallas and owing a jewelry store more than $100,000 for bling he never paid for. Oh yeah, and then there was former Cowboy Deion Sanders telling the media he wanted nothing more to do with Bryant, a guy he used to mentor.
Now comes this.
According to Richie Whitt of the Dallas Observer, Dez Bryant was apparently supposed to show up at NJ Expo Center in Edison, New Jersey to sign autographs for the Collectors Showcase of America show that was to take place there.
According to Whitt, Bryant was given three round trip airline tickets plus hotel for himself, his advisor David Wells, as well as another friend. He was also supposed to receive $10,000 for two hours of signing autographs, a limo for the three of them to Atlantic City and two more hotel rooms there as well as a suite.
For all that you would think Bryant would have gladly showed up especially with former NFL players like Terry Bradshaw, Bo Jackson, Ray Lewis, Frank Gifford and Joe Greene in attendance not to mention former Dallas Cowboys Tony Dorsett and Jay Novacek were also in attendance.
But, in true Dez Bryant style, he decided he was going to no-show.
"There's a professional code that most players adopt," Marco Rol, the president of the Collectors Showcase of America, told Whitt. "They feel a responsibility to their fans, not to mention they're paid handsomely to show up. What Dez did happens probably only one out of 100 times.You get cancellations and re-schedulings in our business, but it's very rare to get the total no-show like that one."
Bryant apparently wasn't the only current Dallas Cowboy to be a no-show in Edison. Jay Ratliff also did show up to the event but he did apparently call Rol to let him know before hand that he would not be there and offered to sign additional items just to make up for his absence.
What excuse could he have possibly used to no-show to the event who was willing to give so much to him and his "advisors?" Bryant apparently said his father had a heart attack.
But according to a source Whitt spoke to, the Cowboys' wide receiver and the friend of advisor David Wells apparently complained about details already discussed with them almost a month earlier.
"He's asking me how long he had to sign, how many fans will be there, complaining about the money, things like that," a liaison for the collector's show said. "Next thing I know his father is sick and dying and he's not coming to Jersey because he has to go to Houston. David came up, but that's like a jockey showing up with no horse."
The question now might be, is Dez Bryant becoming too much of a hassle and too much of a public relations nightmare for the Dallas Cowboys to put up with?
His problems all started so innocently with refusing to carry the shoulder pads of veteran wide receiver, Roy Williams. Since then, it's been all downhill for the former Oklahoma State Cowboy.
If things continue down this same path, Deion Sanders won't be the only one cutting ties with Dez Bryant.

The Dallas Cowboys Have The Talent to Win, But Can They Put it Together?

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What comes to your mind when I mention players like Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Jay Novacek, and Emmitt Smith?

How about champions, greatness, tradition, and everything that epitomizes who the Dallas Cowboys are. Those four players were some of the biggest reasons the Cowboys were called "America's Team" for so long. It's the reason the Cowboys are still known as one of the best franchises in NFL history.

When those four players left for retirement, a new era of players donned the silver star on the helmet.

But in each of the last 16 seasons, the Cowboys haven't shown the greatness this franchise use to be all about. In fact, they've been everything but great.

A single playoff victory is all this franchise has been able to accomplish since the aforementioned four players hung up their gear for good.

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The team formerly known for greatness is now known for underachieving and mediocrity with no end in sight.

With the 2011 season very much in question, new head coach Jason Garrett, quarterback Tony Romo, and a list of talented offensive and defensive players, this team has no more room for error.

During the 2010 season all of the team's problems were blamed on then head coach, Wade Phillips. While the team played better under Garrett after Wade was fired, this team still missed the playoffs by a long shot. Now that their reason for losing is out the door, their excuses have no room to make their presence known.

No longer are they able to say they aren't motivated to play and no longer can they say their head coach isn't holding them accountable.

It's time for the Dallas Cowboys to step up and become the team they once were.

After the team drafted running back DeMarco Murray, it became the first step in moving on from Marion Barber who has been less than impressive over the last few seasons. The guy who used to be one of the up and coming stars did a disappearing act and has fans begging to see a trade to send Marion out of town.

Murray, a former running back with the Oklahoma Sooners, along with current running backs Tashard Choice and Felix Jones, makes a scary trio out of the Cowboys backfield.

Romo will return to the quarterback position after sitting out most of the 2010 season with a broken collarbone. Though some of his teammates say he should have to earn the starting role again against backup Jon Kitna, it's not likely that Garrett will have any sort of battle between the two veterans.

Wide receivers Roy Williams, Miles Austin, and Dez Bryant are arguably three of the most talented wide receivers in the league and it doesn't hurt that they play for the same team.

There's no reason this Dallas Cowboys' team can't make it deep into the playoffs if the 2011 season ever gets underway.

They have no excuse as to why they would falter or sputter and die before getting to the Super Bowl for the 17th straight season. The players are in place and the head coach is in place.

All they need to do now is show it on the field.

Dez Bryant a No-Show to Dallas Cowboys Team Workout

Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver Dez Bryant just can not seem to keep his name out of the news. Whether it's getting into a verbal confrontation with Dallas police at an upscale shopping mall or owing thousands of dollars for jewelry he didn't pay for.

Over the last few weeks the stories surrounding Bryant seemed to have died off and the conversations about him on sports talk radio also grounded to a stop.



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Until, that is, the media found out Bryant did not show up to a workout put together by the Dallas Cowboy players.

The location was unknown and while quarterback Tony Romo refused to say who was there and who wasn't, a source leaked it to the Dallas media that one of the no-shows was in fact Dez Bryant. It relit the already short fuse some of the fans, and media alike, have for the 2010 first round draft pick.

Drama started his career with the Cowboys after the "shoulder pad gate" after Bryant refused to carry Roy Williams' pads. That incident alone was blown into a story that never should have been as big as it was. Then there was the incident at NorthPark Centre followed by the money owed for jewelry.

It has not been a good off season for the second year wide receiver. There are things he could have done to make sure his name didn't stay synonymous with negative press.

The best thing Bryant could have done for himself was to show up to this team workout. He could have done everything in his power to make sure he was visible at the workout and made absolutely sure people knew he made the decision to be there.

We do not know what kept him from being at the workout and it's what makes this particular story a slippery slope because we have nothing but assumptions at this point. He could have had an absolutely legitimate reason for not being there.

But because of everything Bryant has been through and because of all the negative press that has surrounded his name, the assumptions of those who hear he wasn't at the team workout are going to be that he just decided he did not want to be there. Fans and media are going to assume the worst when it comes to Bryant.

Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones, prior to the start of the NFL Draft, was supposed to have a sit down meeting with his wide receiver. During a press conference, Jones made it clear he was going to discuss all of the things surrounding Bryant and make sure the two sides were on the same page.

When the date for the meeting came and went, Jones said the meeting had not taken place and when asked why Jones only responded by saying ,"their schedules had been mixed up."

There are a lot of frustrations with Dez Bryant since he was drafted by the Cowboys. There is no question he has tremendous talent and ability but his actions and decisions away from football could be a lot better.

If he can not stay out of trouble and if he continues to be a no show for the team workouts, one might wonder just how long the Dallas Cowboys are willing to keep explaining things away until they are forced to cut and run.


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Is Dez Bryant Considering Suing the NCAA Over His Suspension from Oklahoma State?

Dez Bryant just can not keep his name out of the news.

After being kicked out of an upscale mall in the Dallas area to owing several thousand dollars to a jeweler, it just seems wherever Bryant is drama is not far behind.

On Friday morning, according to a report from The Ben and Skin show on 103.3 FM ESPN Radio in Dallas, Bryant is apparently kicking around the idea of suing the NCAA over his suspension from Oklahoma State.

It apparently has to do with all the NCAA violations at Ohio State and head coach Jim Tressel only getting a give game suspension for withholding information and lying about what he knew. Bryant seemingly did the same about a relationship with former NFL star Deion Sanders and got handed a 12 game suspension.

If this is something he is seriously going after it's absolutely the wrong move. It will not do him any good to pursue this right now and it won't change the fact he was suspended and virtually forced to jump ship from college to the pros.

The NCAA is not going to apologize for the suspension they handed him and it's not going to change anything in how they handle the Ohio State situation. Nothing good comes of this so I'm hoping this is nothing but a rumor.


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Andre Gurode, Dallas Cowboys Say They Have Reached Out to Dez Bryant

Dez Bryant has been the source of a lot of headaches for the Dallas Cowboys during the off season.

With his run-ins at an upscale mall in Dallas and owing money to a jewelry store, some wonder what we still might not know about the Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver.

His former mentor, Deion Sanders, has jumped ship and is no longer speaking to the second year wideout. He told ESPN radio a few weeks ago that Bryant needed help and he had told the Cowboys as much in earlier conversations with them. He, however, was done trying to help him out when it seemed Bryant wouldn't help himself.

While "Prime Time" might not be there for Bryant, it seems his Cowboys teammates are ready to pick up the slack.

Cowboys' center Andre Gurode joined 105.3 FM The Fan in Dallas on Wednesday morning and was asked about reaching out to Bryant and trying to keep him in line.

"You know, I think we have a close-knit group and we all want the best for Dez," Gurode said. "We have reached out to try and get in contact with him and tell him that this is a situation that you’re going through and we want you to get through it, and get over it. And if you need any help, call one of us and we’ll definitely sit down and talk to you."

Whether or not Gurode of any of his teammates can get through to this young wide receiver isn't a given but Gurode and the rest of his teammates need to make this an internal conversation. If there is anyone Bryant is going to listen to it has to be the veteran's in the locker room, right?

I know there was the drama surrounding him and Roy Williams during training camp last year and it didn't start Bryant's career off as a Cowboy on the right foot. But when it comes to guys who can get through to a young guy who needs to be turned around and put on the right path, Gurode is the right guy to start things off.

Nothing has worked yet, maybe this is a latch ditch effort to see how Bryant responds. If he doesn't and continues to get in trouble, one has to wonder whether Jerry Jones and the rest of the front office and coaching staff might have to make other plans for his future.


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2011 NFL Draft: Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys Have a Lot to Prove With This Draft

With the NFL Draft just a few weeks away, the projections, mock drafts, opinions, conjectures, and all the rest that come with this event.

For the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones, there might be more riding on this draft than at any other point in franchise history. Jones needs to make a splash to prove he still has what it takes to turn this team in a championship contender.

He's failed over the last few years, bringing in players who haven't met the kind of potential most thought they would. Bottom line? Jones' draft picks have flopped.

His most recent and most hyped, former Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant, has made news during this off season and not for any good reasons. He and his "friends" were tossed out of an upscale mall in the Dallas area, his third such run-in with security or law enforcement at the same location.

This time needs to be different for the owner who spent most of last season being ridiculed by fans and questioned by every radio talk show and writer in the Dallas and Fort Worth areas. After every loss his team sustained, Jones was in the locker room in front of more than 15 cameras trying to calm everyone's fears about who this team really was.

What he wasn't willing to do was give up the one thing everyone seems to want him to give up--control. Jones' ego won't allow it. He wouldn't be watch some young general manager come swooping in to Arlington and build the team he has failed to build for the past 16 seasons.

Say what you want about the players available in this draft, the big names that could draw big ticket sales the moment after his name was announced, or the safe pick that would make fans and the media groan and let out a collective, "here we go again."

Where the Cowboys need help is on defense, it seems to be the consensus among the die hard fans and those who cover the team.

I've had my own opinions about where the Cowboys need to go and what could shake up the same old picks Jones seems to make.

Former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton was a hot topic around these parts for quite awhile. However, his name was shot down by just about everyone in the metroplex not only because of his off the field problems at both Florida and Auburn but the lack of being able to fit in head coach Jason Garrett's system.

With Tony Romo, Jon Kina, and former Texas Tech quarterback Steven McGee already on the roster, it seems unlikely they would use a first round, or even a second round, draft pick to bring in yet another quarterback who would be buried on the bench for a good portion of the next two to four years. Not exactly money well spent, right?

Another player who's name was mentioned was former Pitt wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin. But ESPN's AFC blogger, James Walker, seems to think he's a better fit with the Baltimore Ravens. Luckily for Mr. Walker I tend to agree with him.

The Cowboys don't need another wide receiver. They already have Bryant, Miles Austin, Roy Williams, and Sam Hurd not to mention one of the best tight ends in the game in Jason Witten who tends to be a favorite target of Romo's.

A few other names who haev been mentioned in connection with the Cowboys are former LSU cornerback Patrick Petersen who Mel Kiper who has the San Francisco 49ers picking him up at pick No. 7 two spots before the Cowboys; Von Miller the former linebacker out of Texas A&M; Tyron Smith the offensive tackle from USC; Prince Amukamara the star cornerback out of Nebraska, and Da'Quan Bowers the defensive end out of Clemson.

Each of those names should be enticing to Jones and would definitely be big time improvements right off the bat. Not to mention each of these guys could come right in and make an impact in their very first season in the league.

As of right now, it looks like Miller and Amukamara will be off the board before the Cowboys' pick comes up. The only way to grab either of those two guys, if they have the most interest from the team staff, is to trade up.

If they want to do that, they're going to need to give up something to get two to four spots higher in the first round of the draft. You're looking at the number seven (49ers) or the number three (Bills) overall pick, both of whom are in need of a quarterback regardless of how much faith new 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh has in Alex Smith or the Bills have in Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The Cowboys have someone they can use as trade bait. In fact, they have two players they could dangle just to see how far the conversation goes. Quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant.

You don't deal them right off the bat but dangling them will give Jones the opportunity to see if it starts any conversations at all with either team.

Regardless of what the Cowboys decided to do, this is going to be the most telling draft for Jones since he brought in Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman. He has a lot to prove to the players in the locker room and to the fans who have supported this team for as long as they've been alive.

It's time for this team and it's ownership to make a splash, to do something no one is going to see coming. It's the only way this franchise gets back on its feet and gets back to where it used to be.


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Dallas Cowboys: Dez Bryant, Deion Sanders Cut Ties For Good

Dez Bryant couldn't be having a worse week than this one. Even though it's Friday, which is normally a good thing, it's not a Friday Bryant is going to remember.

After being kicked out of Dallas' upscale mall, NorthPark Center, former Dallas Cowboy Deion Sanders told ESPN Radio's Ben and Skin Show this morning he wants nothing more to do with the young wide receiver.

"I'm upset but not surprised whatsoever," Sanders told them. "He needs help. He needs help. I told the Cowboys from day one that he needs help. Matter of fact, they have a team in place to help him. But you cannot tell a grown man what to do."

When the news reached Bryant, as you can imagine his reaction was less than cordial. "I wish Deion would come to me as a man and talk to me," Bryant told ESPN Dallas. "I've been reaching out to Deion. I've never done anything wrong to Deion or disrespected him. I've never lied to Deion."

Though Sanders stopped mentoring Bryant more than a few months ago, this news send "Prime Time" over the proverbial edge and forced him to cut ties with him completely.

"I don't have a problem with you lying to me. That's one thing," Sanders said on the air Friday morning. "But when you lie to yourself as a man, you have a serious problem and that's where this kid is. And I can't condone it. I really can't. It tarnishes everything else I'm trying to develop in these kids [in his youth program]. I can't allow you to poison other kids that I'm trying to mentor and take to another level."

When asked if he would reach out to Bryant or speak to him Sanders replied, "I haven't spoken to the kid. I have no desire to speak to the kid. In regards to me, I can forgive, but I can't forget. You can't tarnish the other things that I have going on and the other kids. It's sort of like I can't allow something to poison the fruit of many other kids. I can't do it, so I cut off those ties a long time ago."

This is just the latest hit to the Cowboys' wide receiver. A player who came in with a lot of baggage and speculation he would be a problem.

Though it doesn't seem like he's had any negative affect on the field, his off the field problems have been what most would call a public relations nightmare for Jerry Jones. A man who had a lot of faith in Bryant when he drafted him out of Oklahoma State in the 2010 NFL Draft.

There's no indication if the Cowboys will punish Bryant internally and there's been no comment from Jones himself. But that probably has more to do with him worrying about the lockout more than a player's conduct off the field.

However, Jones won't be able to ignore this for long. Whether or not it will affect Bryant's status with the team may not be seen for some time.


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Dallas Cowboys: Dez Bryant Gets Himself Into Hot Water Again

Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Dez Bryant is in the news again and not the good kind.

Bryant and some friends were apparently asked to leave NorthPark Mall in Dallas on Saturday and given a criminal trespass warning from off-duty officers.

According to a police report filled out at the scene, Bryant and three other men were asked by mall security to "pull up their pants" because their underwear was showing. "It really wasn't me in the wrong," Bryant told Calvin Watkins of ESPN Dallas. "It's not even an issue."

Bryant went on to say, "I told the guy I'm not trying to get in trouble. I'm not trying to destroy my image. The [warning] wasn't toward me. I was trying to figure out what was going on. It was a big misunderstanding. I was the wrong guy."

Rumors flew that he and his friends were banned from the mall for three months but the Cowboys' wide receiver later tweeted, "Headed to North Park tomorrow to get these Lebrons....I am not banned from North park lol."

Ever since Bryant was drafted by the Cowboys, it seems drama has followed him wherever he's gone.

First it was the shoulder pad situation with teammate Roy Williams during training camp last year, then he was involved in what was called a "major disturbance" at a restaurant located inside the same mall he was booted from over the weekend.

If you're wondering when the young wide receiver out of Oklahoma State is ever going to grow up, the answer to that question may be a resounding 'NO' especially if these incidents continue to pile up.

Whether he becomes a public relations' nightmare for the Cowboys may be more of a 'when' than 'if.'


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Are the Dallas Cowboys Really Shopping Dez Bryant?

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With all the goings on with the Dallas Cowboys this past off season including hiring Jason Garrett as their new head coach, there was an interesting rumor that came out today.

As most of you fans know, wide receiver Dez Bryant surprised a lot of people this season but missed the last few weeks because of a fractured ankle. Next to that, he was a guy that the Cowboys loved at wide receiver.

At least I thought so.

Making it's way around the Twitterverse today was a rumor that the Cowboys were allegedly shopping their first year player for a pick in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Keith Whitmire of Fox Sports Southwest has a piece out this afternoon talking about this apparent rumor and shoots down that the team would even be remotely curious about trading a guy that Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones loved from the moment he drafted him.

What Whitmire also talks about are the whispers that Bryant wasn't the most focused person on the team. He apparently was late to several team meetings and didn't exactly study the playbook as much as he should have.

Late to team meetings? Didn't study the playbook? Maybe the Cowboys see another Terrell Owens forming in Bryant. Then again, there may be nothing to this talk and it'll die off in the coming days or weeks.

But, on the flip side, this talk may heat up especially with the draft just a few months away. We know Jones loves him. Why else would Bryant be handed the No. 88? A number worn by two big names in Cowboys' history. But could new head coach Jason Garrett not be a fan of Bryant's and could that really be the writing on the wall that sends the rookie out of town?

The problem with the reports that surfaced today is the fact that we don't even know if there's going to be a season in 2011. As far as we know, with no Collective Bargaining Agreement signed, we could be looking at a work stoppage and silent NFL stadiums around the country.

So with so much unknown at the moment, why trade what seems to be a very talented young man for a draft pick that may not be anywhere near the caliber of Dez Bryant and someone that may not even see a practice or game until the 2012 season?

Those questions would lead me to believe that these rumors have absolutely nothing to them. Although, that's been said before about rumors we thought had nothing to them and watched as they became reality.

For right now, Bryant is still a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. Who knows, maybe all the talk is a shot across the bow and a wake up call for someone who thought he could do what he wanted to do because the owner liked him.

If this is a preemptive strike from the Cowboys it's one that couldn't have come at a better time. They could be bluffing and it could get the reaction they need.

It could also be the start of what could be one of the more shocking moves for this team in quite some time. We won't know until someone from the Cowboys comes out and denies all the talk that's been going on today.

Until that time, I'm not so sure a team like the Dallas Cowboys would be ready to give up on a player they've had for a single season. A player they drafted with their very first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

If I'm wrong about this, then maybe this team is starting to change their stripes and becoming more serious about winning games and not just selling merchandise.

If that's the case, it's about time.