Getty Dez Bryant
Now that his longtime foil, Jason Garrett, is no longer in the building, Dez Bryant is busy mending bridges with the Dallas Cowboys.
Who will be a legitimate contender next season, according to Dez.
“I feel like they got the right pieces to go to the Super Bowl, and I feel like I can help be a part of that, if possible,” Bryant told FOX 4 on Wednesday night, via The Athletic. “But if not, I’m just working, I’m grinding, trying to get on that field either way.”
It’s quite the about-face from the three-time Pro Bowler, who once detailed his “unfair” 2018 release from Dallas and blamed Garrett, the team’s former head coach, for wasting his prime. Bryant then celebrated Garrett’s firing last month, signaling the start of reparative efforts with the organization.
After essentially begging to return to the Cowboys, filling the veteran contributor role likely vacated by tight end Jason Witten, Bryant included the club on his list of “dream goals” as he puts into action a feverish NFL comeback attempt.
“Give me the role they gave witten.. no shot at witten ..let me play with zeke pollard Gallup cooper Cobb jarwin…… think about it.. in the mean time I’m working,” he wrote last month.
He got more aggressive as the days wore on and Dallas expressed little public interest in a reunion.
“He has texted me that he would like to come back,” Cowboys VP Stephen Jones revealed last week. “We have nothing but great respect for Dez and what he accomplished here. Certainly, as we look forward into the future we look at all opportunities and all potential players that could maybe help us out.”
So, Bryant broke out the big guns by referencing “Cowboys” and “Super Bowl” in the same sentence, no doubt attempting to appeal to both impatient upper management and an adoring fan base.
Out of football since 2018, when he tore his Achilles’ in his first practice after joining the Saints, 31-year-old Bryant genuinely believes he again can throw up the X in the silver and blue. He recently told TMZ Sports “for damn sure I’m getting back on that field” — potentially in the house Jerry built.
“[The Cowboys] are my first choice,” he said. “If the opportunity is there, I’m gonna take it.”
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Dez Gives Prediction on Dak Prescott, Tom Brady for Cowboys
Of all people, when it comes to the Cowboys‘ muddled quarterback situation, Bryant seems to be the most level-headed.
Thinking critically rather than hyperbolically, the free-agent wideout stated his belief that Dak Prescott — not Tom Brady — will quarterback the team in 2020, countering ever-present rumors linking the six-time Super Bowl champion to the Lone Star State.
“You are exactly right… Dak will always be the QB in Dallas until his time is up… I think Brady going to the Raiders,” Bryant tweeted Monday in a response to a follower, after he said, “I wouldn’t mind playing with Brady.”
Another follower asked why the Los Angeles Chargers wouldn’t be an option for the California-born, future Hall-of-Fame field general.
“Idk I don’t see it… I can see him in Oakland,” responded Bryant, reminded the team now resides in Las Vegas.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL