Dallas receiver Dez Bryant remains unsigned, but Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones is not worried.
Jones said at the league meeting that he’s sure Bryant will be under contract before the season starts, whether that’s because Bryant signs the franchise tender or because he and the team agree to a long-term deal.
“I’m not worried about that at all, and it’s because of how much he loves the game, how much he knows that preparation, practice, all of that improves him,” Jones said, via the Star-Telegram. “He’s at a time in his career where he’s physically still very much improving, can get better. The biggest reason I want a long-term agreement with Dez is so we’ll have a deal with him for a long term – but not as far as impacting what we’re doing this year in terms of what Dez’s performance will be or what we are as a team. We’ve got that in place with the franchise. So I’m not worried. I know how much he loves to play football, I know how much he loves his teammates, I know how much he loves his team and I know how much money he’s getting. With all of that, you play.”
Jones said it’s impossible to say for certain whether a long-term deal can be reached, but he’s not in a big hurry to get that done.
“I don’t know, and Dez doesn’t know,” Jones said. “The point is, though, that the franchise agreement is set there to pay a lot of money to a player, and for a club to have some inconvenience because it can’t pro-rate the salary out. But certainly a club can pay a key player a lot of money to have success on the field. That’s why it’s there. I don’t see angst there at all. I hear angst from media, but I don’t see angst.”
Jones may feel angst if Bryant remains unsigned in four months and starts talking about missing training camp and the preseason, but that’s a long way off. Right now, Jones is feeling good about Bryant’s status, even if he’s not under contract.
