With contract talks breaking down — the Dallas Cowboys are seriously considering using the franchise tag on Dez Bryant.
The tag — a one year deal — would pay Bryant as one of the top five players at his position.
Stephen Jones, who confirmed that the Cowboys don’t have a meeting planned with Bryant’s agent yet — saying “We haven’t gone that far” — does agree that Bryant will be a Cowboy regardless.
‘Right now all things being equal, it’s leaning more Dez with the franchise than it is not,’ Jones said. “But that doesn’t mean it will stay that way.
‘We don’t ever want to give up on a long-term deal,’ Jones continued. ‘It’s something we worked on all of last year and it kind of cooled off once we got into the season. We’ll continue to see what our options are and things happen quickly as you go along. Things can go along with a lot not going on, but all of a sudden it happens.’
Fox Sports’ Mike Fisher reported on Monday that Bryant and the Cowboys were close to a deal in late October that would have ensured his long-term future with the organization.
Sources tell CowboysHQ.com that in the last week in October, the Cowboys were so close to a new contract with Dez Bryant that some of the ancillary paperwork was being drawn up. Now? The appearance of ‘far away,’ as the window opens to franchise-tag Dallas’ star receiver.