While I won’t be able to put quite as eloquently as Cowboys fan/Ginger hater Shea in Irving did on Monday’s edition of The Dan Patrick Show, Sunday’s pregame shows included an intriguing report regarding Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant.
One week after news emerged that Bryant had fired agent Eugene Parker and aligned with Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports (to the chagrin of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones), someone leaked to the media company partially owned by the Cowboys the notion that the Cowboys remain concerned about Dez Bryant away from the field.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that police have been to Bryant’s home six times in four years. The visits entailed, allegedly, a harassment incident, a robbery at his home, a fire, and an unlocked car with a baby inside.
This is why, Rapoport explains, the Cowboys offered Bryant a 10-year, $114 million deal, with only $20 million guaranteed.
But the Cowboys used a similar, ultra-long-term structure with left tackle Tyron Smith. And rumors have persisted for months that Jones hoped to persuade Bryant, through direct negotiations, to make a similar commitment that, given the non-guaranteed nature of NFL deals, ends up being a one-way street with no way out for the player.
Now, it appears the Cowboys have opted for hardball, launching a P.R. attack against Bryant and in turn making potential suitors think twice about pursuing Bryant, who would be far better off forcing the Cowboys to use the franchise tag on a year-to-year basis than accepting a deal that gives him some security up front but ties him to the team for as long as the team chooses to keep him.