We are less than 48hrs away from finding out whether or not Dez Bryant and the Dallas Cowboys will agree to a long-term deal. Rumors have been ramped up with speculation that says Dez called Stephen Jones personally about his intentions to hold out barring a new deal and then Jones denying such rumors.
Here’s Dez on Twitter which suggests he will not play football.
As much as I love football…on my beautiful babies.. I apologize #cowboynation but I will not be there if no deal #fact
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) July 13, 2015
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That’s straight from the horses mouth per se. I don’t see this as a bluff. Dez and his agents have a plan in place and are willing to execute it if needed. The question the Cowboys have to ask themselves is whether or not they can sustain Dez missing games.
In 1993, Emmitt Smith held out for a better contract, and the Cowboys went 0-2 before they agreed to give Emmitt a raise. In this case, the Cowboys have the financial leverage, but not having Dez would stifle the offense without a doubt. Unlike the Emmitt holdout, Dez cannot holdout and come out of it with a new long-term deal. July 15th is a concrete date for all NFL teams with tagged players.
If a new deal is not done, then the player must play under the franchise tag and they must wait until the end of the year to start work on a long-term deal. Dez holding out would hit his own pockets as he’ll lose money, but it may be something he has already come to terms with doing as an act of protest, because that’s all it would be under the current rules. However, where a holdout could help Dez would be for 2016. Let’s say Dez holdouts out this year and the Cowboys lose a few games in his absence, then for 2016, the Cowboys could be less inclined at throwing another franchise tag at Dez if it means more losses to start the year in 2016.
I’m hoping the Cowboys are able to get a deal with Dez and not jeopardize any possible losses due to Dez sitting out.
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