Dez Bryant not quite ready to retire from football
Dez Bryant is working his way back from a torn Achilles, and he’s planning to make comeback to the NFL.
After being cut by the Dallas Cowboys in April of 2017, Dez Bryant had some rumored interest from teams before remaining available into the season and signing with the New Orleans Saints in November. But two days later he suffered a torn Achilles in practice, and his 2018 campaign was over before it started.
The list of players who never make it back from a torn Achilles is long, in any sport. But Bryant has been working out, and he posted a video of himself running routes back in May. Still, as a nod to the career-ending nature of his injury, no teams showed any interest in signing him this offseason.
Bryant is not giving up though. According to Jane Slater of NFL Network, the 30-year-old said he’s “way better” than he was before he signed with the Saints last year and he’s “going to be trying to get back in the league” in mid-October. He has been working with former Oklahoma wide receiver David Robinson.
Dez Bryant tells me”I’m way better than I was before I went to the #Saints last year... mid October is when I’m going to be trying to get back in the league” https://t.co/F0fecuFKO6
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) September 1, 2019
Bryant will be around 11 months removed from his Achilles tear in October. It’s easy to say he’s “way better,” “explosive” and “moving fast” in a workout setting, but an NFL team or two may be willing to take a closer look at him soon.
Over his last three seasons with the Cowboys (2015-17), Bryant was clearly a diminished player. He missed seven games with a foot injury in 2015, but over all 16 games in 2017 he had just 69 catches for 838 yards (a career-low 12.1 yards per catch) on 132 targets. If not for halfway decent touchdown production (eight in 2016, six in 2017), Bryant would have been an inconsequential player for Dallas despite No. 1 receiver-like target volume.
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Bryant’s name will get attention, and he may get signed somewhere on a rest of the season flier in mid-October. The Saints could give him another shot, and other contending teams could shape a useful role for him. But there is a legit chance we’ve seen the last of Bryant on a football field.