Dallas Cowboys: Gut feeling-will Dez Bryant be on the roster in 2018?

The Dallas Cowboys will look to have a discussion with Dez Bryant in the coming days as they try to free up some cap space.

There has been a lot of talk about Dez Bryant’s contract status heading into 2018. He has one of the teams largest cap hits and his play has been sluggish. The Bryant that the Dallas Cowboys signed to a major contract is not the same player that has been on the field for over the past two years.

Injuries and fatigue have robbed him of his explosiveness. Things could be changing however as Bryant could be on the cusp of his healthiest season to date, there could still be hope that the Cowboys star wide receiver gets it together.

Still, there has been a lingering thought at least from half of Cowboy Nation that Bryant could/should be released in order to bring in a player like Allen Robinson or multiple wide receivers to help this team.

The main issue with that is finding a player who would replace Bryant’s potential production during this short window available to Dallas while they have a quarterback on a rookie contract. In two seasons Bryant may be out of Dallas because the Cowboys have to pay Dak Prescott and/or Ezekiel Elliott max deals.

Dez should remain a Cowboy for the time being because if you are trying to maximize the amount of talent on the field during this particular window it would not make sense to bring in a young prospect at the wide receiver position.

There is no guarantee first-round wide receivers in this draft class will become stars or be all that productive in their first NFL season. That means keeping Bryant while drafting a young player at that position would make some sense. Bryant can help teach the Dallas Cowboys next rookie wide receiver while helping the team on the field as much as he can. 

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Just flat out releasing Bryant for nothing would be somewhat disappointing because at the very least you could get a fairly high draft pick if not a productive player in a swap. The reaction to Bryant’s production on the field is what should be expected as he has not played like your typical franchise wide receiver in recent memory and the NFL is a “what have you done for me lately?” type of league.

The main issue here is the Dallas Cowboys cannot sacrifice firepower for future prospects as they need to have a win now mentality while some of the key players on their roster are still on their rookie contracts. 

Next: Dallas Cowboys: Free Agency activity

The team has to build on what they already have so the best option in this scenario is that the Cowboys manage to get Bryant to accept a pay cut just so the team can be more flexible with their options during free agency. We will have to wait and see how this discussion goes, but it would be in everyone’s best interest if Bryant and the Cowboys came to some sort of resolution.