Report: Dez Bryant considering skipping season opener

[Betallsports]

According to ESPN, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant is thinking about skipping the team’s regular season opener if he is not signed to a long-term contract extension by July 15.

At this time, Bryant has not signed his $12.8 million franchise tag for the 2015 season. The deadline for any tagged players to sign their tender is July 15. The choices for Bryant this season are to play under his tag or forfeit playing altogether.


Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones recently reported that getting Bryant signed to a long-term deal is a priority. However, the team has yet to offer Bryant any contract of that nature since the start of the 2014 season.


Bryant, who couldn’t be reached for comment, may end up pulling an Emmitt Smith, as the running back held out for the first two games of the 1993 season. The team suffered two losses, signed Smith to a favorable deal then proceeded to win their second consecutive Super Bowl.


Bryant, entering his sixth season in Dallas, is coming off an elite 2014 performance that saw him total 1,350 yards and 16 touchdowns.
It is clear that Bryant is willing to play hardball to ignite some action regarding his contract.

 

[Michelangelo]

12.8 isn't enough?

 

[PatsFan1283]

Wouldn't need to holdout if the NFL just let capitalism do its thing but they don't like to let guys like Dez hit UFA

 

[MikeB]

I would let him sit.

Take away his babysitter also. Once left to his own devices, see what he is worth.

 

[loomis41973]

I would let him sit.

Take away his babysitter also. Once left to his own devices, see what he is worth.

good idea

 

[PatsFan1283]

He's 1 of the best players on the team. "Letting him sit" is a really bad idea.

If you don't want him on the team then trade him for picks and let someone else pay him 100 mill.

 

[doubledeuce22]

0.0 chance he sits out a regular season game over this.

 

[PatsFan1283]

Walter Jones used to do this all the time. Threaten to sit and then just miss training camp.

 

[MikeB]

He's 1 of the best players on the team. "Letting him sit" is a really bad idea.

If you don't want him on the team then trade him for picks and let someone else pay him 100 mill.

The Patriots wouldn't cave. They seem to have a better blueprint than the Cowboys.


The bottom line is that you can't let the inmates run the asylum.

 

[PatsFan1283]

The Patriots wouldn't cave. They seem to have a better blueprint than the Cowboys.


The bottom line is that you can't let the inmates run the asylum.

The Patriots would either pay him or trade him. They wouldn't go into a season with 1 of their best players holding out. Effectively freezing an asset like that is a stupid way to run a team.

The only guys the Pats have even made play with the tag they told them they wouldn't tag them again. Welker, Samuel and Vinatieri and they let them get paid by other teams after the season.

What do you think Dez would get for a deal if he were to hit UFA?

 

[MikeB]

The only guys the Pats have even made play with the tag they told them they wouldn't tag them again. Welker, Samuel and Vinatieri and they let them get paid by other teams after the season.

You're making my point.

They told these guys that they were being franchised and that was all there was to it. Did the Pats cave? Of course not.

These three were smart enough to not sit out.

I'm glad you're not running the Patriots. You would negotiate like Obama.

 

[PatsFan1283]

You're making my point.

They told these guys that they were being franchised and that was all there was to it. Did the Pats cave? Of course not.

These three were smart enough to not sit out.

I'm glad you're not running the Patriots. You would negotiate like Obama.

The reason the guys played out the year was because they told them they wouldn't tag them again. Atleast in Samuel's case, those other 2 really didn't have a ton of leverage. 1 being a kicker and the other being a slot WR.

Dallas hasn't told Dez that. If they did that he'd just sign it and hit UFA. Like 5-10 teams would give this guy 50 guaranteed instantly, of course he doesn't wanna play for 13.

Most of the time when the Pats have had contract disputes or didn't wanna pay a guy they just dealt them before losing them for nothing. Branch, Seymour, Moss....

 

[PatsFan1283]

Yeah the guy will probably get something done with Dallas but why do people always have an issue with athletes wanting to get paid?

Of course he is gonna threaten to sitout, any one of us would be smart enough to do the samething. Your career can end on 1 play, of course guys want long-term deals.

Matt Lauer makes like 15 for reading a teleprompter, I'd atleast wanna be getting more than him.

 

[MikeB]

How successful would the team that you are hypothetically running be if every free agent threatened to sit? Once the first few got away with it, they would all do it. You would either pay them or find another team to pay them what they want.

Once in a while you have to call their bluff. Negotiating from a position of weakness only makes things worse (ask our crack foreign policy team)

 

[MikeB]

And I don't think they are using Matt Lauers salary as a negotiating starting point. Something tells me that the Today Show host is a better reader than Dez.

 

[scottcarter]

it may be a good thing. He could spend the extra time practicing his catching

 

[MikeB]

it may be a good thing. He could spend the extra time practicing his catching

Haha....ouch....

 

[scottcarter]

Haha....ouch....

too soon?

 

[PatsFan1283]

How successful would the team that you are hypothetically running be if every free agent threatened to sit? Once the first few got away with it, they would all do it. You would either pay them or find another team to pay them what they want.

Once in a while you have to call their bluff. Negotiating from a position of weakness only makes things worse (ask our crack foreign policy team)

Oh I don't blame Dallas for wanting him to play a year under the tag. I'd pretty much always want a guy to play 1 more year before having to give him a long-term deal if you could. Especially with how fast guys begin to falloff in their late 20s nowadays. Sometimes you gotta just bite the bullet and pay your best players though. NE takes hard stands with the expendable guys usually but the Gronk/Brady/Seymour's they have paid over the years.

I'm just saying he is obviously smart to try and get a long-term deal. Making 12.8 million instead of 50 guaranteed is a bad move.

Guys in the other sports got it way better, when they hit free agency they just get paid by the highest bidder.

 

[Michelangelo]

They called that "no catch", right? I said bullshit then. And I say bullshit now.