Are the Dallas Cowboys going to cut Dez Bryant?

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) makes a would be catch over Green Bay Packers cornerback Sam Shields (37) late in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The play was ruled a catch but was overturned via instant replay. (Ron Jenkins/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS via Getty Images) /

Jerry Jones and Dez Bryant are set to have a meeting on Friday, and the receiver could be jettisoned from the Dallas Cowboys during it.

Throughout the offseason, there has been plenty of talk about what would happen with Dez Bryant. The Dallas Cowboys are usually full of moves in free agency, but this time around were extremely quiet, save the signing of wide receiver Allen Hurns.

With Hurns in town, is Bryant more likely to leave town? The short and long answers are both yes, with the longer being a bit nuanced. Dallas is currently sitting at $2.67 million in cap space, enough to sign its draft class but offering little wiggle room.

Should Jones move on from Bryant, he would save $8.5 million of his $16 million cap hit, the third-largest on the team for 2018. If Jones and the Cowboys designate Bryant as a post-June 1 cut, they net $12.5 million but pay an extra $4 million in dead money next year.

The main reason for releasing Bryant would be declining production against a large cap number. Perhaps the smart move would be to have Bryant accept a pay cut, although it seems both sides would rather move on and start fresh. At 29 years old, the former first-round pick still has good years ahead, although he hasn’t produced an 1,000-yard campaign since 2014.

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If Dallas decides to go in another direction, the receiving corps are thin. Hurns and Cole Beasley would be the top two targets, with Jones perhaps bolstering the unit during the early rounds of the upcoming NFL Draft.

Meanwhile, Bryant would have some options. With nobody of his caliber on the free0agent market, look for suitors to come early and often. A few potential names to watch would be the Carolina Panthers, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals.