Why Dez Bryant Shouldn’t be on an NFL Roster
One of the bigger free agent names this offseason and arguably the best available wide receiver is still on the market. We’ve seen plenty of free agent receivers get pretty sizable contracts. Receivers with much less impressive stats that Bryant. Sammy Watkins was able to get $16M/year for three years after recording just 39 catches last season. You’d think someone like Dez, who’s coming off a 69 rec, 838 yard season with 8 TDs, could get something close to that. Especially since he’s still on the right side of 30. However, Dez has put himself in an interesting pickle. And his past has made it so that he’s not a good fit for a contender or a team rebuilding.
Why Dez can’t Play for a Team that’s Rebuilding
This is the easier one to tackle. Assuming Dez doesn’t need to win now (Which is a probably true since he visited with the Browns), there are plenty of teams that could use his talent. You’d think that a veteran who’s played with a great quarterback like Tony Romo would be invaluable to a young quarterback with poor receivers (Like the Bills?). Unfortunately, Dez’s personality has made him a cancer in the locker room. He’s someone who had the personality of Terrell Owens, but doesn’t have the stats to back it up. While he’s been a good receiver throughout his career, he’s certainly not elite and doesn’t have Hall of Fame talent like TO does. This big personality is something that young locker rooms can do without. The Browns for example have a pretty talented young receiver with Antonio Callaway. He’s already had some troubles in his past. The last thing the Browns would want is to bring in Dez and have him corrupt what could be a special talent. So while Dez’s experience is attractive, it doesn’t outweigh the potential pariah he could end up being in the locker room.
Why Dez can’t Play for a Contender
Many contenders on the other hand have older, established players who won’t put up with Dez’s attitude. He’d have to just show up and play. So why haven’t contenders reached out to Dez? While the issue is, while Dez is good, he’s not good enough to help a contender. If you look at the current contenders going into the season, they are all pretty set at receiver. Not only that, Dez’s skill set isn’t really that of a receiver anymore. While he was never a speed burner, his speed has still dropped off quite a bit. He looks like a tight end when he runs but doesn’t have the bulk or inside ability to actually be a tight end. So basically, you have a player who’s too slow to play on the outside but isn’t big enough (or have good enough hands) to play exclusively in the seam.
So unfortunately for Dez, he’s going to struggle to find an NFL job. A lot of people thing that the Patriots will eventually sign him (Because the Patriots always seem to do well with old, big personality receivers). However, Gronk does Dez’s job better than Dez. Plus, he wouldn’t really fit into a Patriots offense that’s predicated on screens and quick passing routes. With the beginning of the season nearing, it looks like he should’ve taken the offer that the Ravens offered him months ago. Unless the Browns decide to make a classic bad Browns’ move and sign him, it looks like we may have seen the last of Dez Bryant in the NFL.
-Stephen Brown III (@sbtrey23)