Troy Aikman knows Dez Bryant was a weapon for the Dallas Cowboys in the past, but the HOF quarterback is adamant that wasn’t the case in 2017.
A lot of Cowboys fans took aim at the team’s front office when they elected to cut ties with Dez Bryant this summer. According to Troy Aikman, that criticism was undeserved. The former Dallas star insists that the Cowboys won’t miss the way Bryant played last season.
Aikman’s words sound a lot like the evaluation the Cowboys front office made about Bryant this offseason. He specifically articulated his belief that Bryant couldn’t successfully win one-on-one matchups against defensive backs last year. Per Aikman the receiver’s inability to beat defenders one on one meant Bryant was no longer qualified to play in the NFL.
It’s obvious the majority of front office executives around the league have come to the same conclusion. Only the Browns and Ravens have shown significant interest in making a deal for Bryant this summer. Neither franchise elected to make Bryant a financial offer that he and his representatives deemed to be sufficient.
In fairness to Bryant, Aikman’s assessment is a bit harsh. It’s true that Bryant no longer has the quickness or speed to beat quality cornerbacks on the outside. When you watch film of him trying to do that for the Cowboys last season you see him fail time and time again. Any team that elects to sign him to fill a hole on the outside is going to be sorely disappointed.
On the other hand, Jason Garrett and the coaching staff didn’t do anything creative to try to help him succeed. The obvious solution would have been to give him a chance to work in the slot. For some reason, that possibility seemed to evade the Cowboys coaching staff. Perhaps Jason Witten’s presence in the lineup made it too crowded. At any rate, Bryant was unable to give his team any consistent production last year.
The question now becomes whether or not Bryant can pivot and become a different sort of player for the second chapter of his career. If he can evolve quickly he has a chance to become a productive slot receiver. If he can’t, we might have seen the last of Bryant as a productive NFL player.