INDIANAPOLIS — The Dallas Cowboys are still trying to come up with the perfect pitch to Dez Bryant.
With free agency looming and a March 2 deadline to use their franchise tag, the Cowboys still are debating whether to put the tag on Bryant, their top receiver, even as they try to work out a long-term deal. They still hope to keep running back DeMarco Murray, and they’re hoping to find enough cap room to do both.
“We’re usually able to accomplish what we need to accomplish and the question just becomes strategy,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told a small group of reporters Tuesday. “Do you want to push money out in order to have money now? We’ll just have to make good, sound decisions.”
Dallas’ most pressing decision involves Bryant, who can become an unrestricted free agent in three weeks. Last season, the 26-year-old receiver had 88 catches, 1,320 yards and a league-high 16 TD receptions.
The presumption has been that if the NFC East champs can’t work out a long-term deal with Bryant, they will use the one-year tag. In that case, Bryant would likely get $12 to $13 million — a hefty price tag for a team that is trying to fit a high-priced quarterback, a top receiver and the NFL’s leading rusher under a salary cap projected to come in at about $140 million.
Stephen Jones said the Cowboys have been talking to Bryant’s agent, Tom Condon. They plan to meet in Indianapolis during this week’s NFL Scouting Combine.
If the sides can work out a more cap-friendly deal, the Cowboys could finally hit the trifecta — keeping Bryant, Murray and Tony Romo together for several more seasons.
But Bryant is already starting to show signs of frustration.
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Either way, Dallas is committed to keeping Bryant. And if the Cowboys do use the tag, Jones said he expects Bryant “will be a pro and he’ll play.”
“If we don’t get a deal, it just shows how much we’re committed to him,” Jones said. “We don’t want to expose him.”
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
