Dallas Ditches Dez; What's a Cowboy without His Horse?

The writing's been on the wall for the past month.

With Dallas searching high and low for a wideout via free agency, it didn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that free-spirit Dez Bryant was on his way outta town.

So far, Jerry Jones & Co have yet to attract a replacement.

But what the hell, they figured, they were gonna dump Bryant anyway.

 

Bryant signed a five-year, $70million contract after the 2014 season in the wake of several stellar seasons. But it seemed as soon as the ink was dry, dude's production went so far south that not even a wall could stop it.

Still, why say sayonara now? Wouldn't it be better to have a replacement in the stable?

Then again, why else?

Didn't like the burn rate.

 

Even taking Bryant's antics into consideration in the world's most vanilla pro sports league, it's always about the money.

The timing is suspect, to say the least. Bryant didn't have a clause in his contract for an early bonus, so the Cowboys didn't cut him early. They had time to hold off and decide what they wanted to do.

What's worse for Bryant is the height of free agency is over. Sammy Watkins signed a massive $48million contact and, just as impressive, Allen Robinson cashed in $42 million. Most teams have already deployed their free-agent budget, and few have the cap space for the money Dez may want.

 

Other factors?

- Dak Prescott ... Seems like Dez and Dak didn't have the chemistry. Prescott's obviously is the Cowboys' future, so they're likely looking for someone who actually runs routes, catches balls, and gets separation from the defense. Frankly, Bryant's been a no-show in all three categories, and the front office clearly thinks that's not gonna change.

As opposed to his controversial catch/non-catch, which took The Shield three years to rule as a completion:

 

- Production ... Even Bryant can't dispute that his numbers are down. His contract demanded better than 100 receiving yards in any game last season. What's more, dude's only 1000-yard receiving mark came during the 2012-2014 seasons. All under Tony Romo.

Could be a pattern.

 

- Attitude ... Face it, unless a player's in his prime, the only way he can get away with this is if he played on the Old School 'Boys or Raiders. Bryant can't check either box.

So, what's next?

Ironically, the Redskins would seem to be the prime suitor on a list of teams with cap space and need, but they say they're not interested.

 

XFL, anyone?