Cowboys coach Jason Garrett told reporters last week that wide receiver Dez Bryant would miss the season finale and would need surgery on his ankle and his foot. That surgery will take place on Wednesday in New York, according to ESPN.com's Todd Archer.
Bryant is having another bone graft added to the foot and will have the ankle cleaned up. The Cowboys expect him to be ready for the offseason program in April. Dr. Martin O'Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery is performing the operations.
"No one has given me any indication at any level of our medical staff or just in general from outside our medical staff, that he's got an issue that would limit him going into our normal training regime, going into training camp, going into the season next year," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on Sunday.
Bryant broke his foot in Week 1, and a lot of people -- including those in the medical profession and players who had suffered similar injuries -- thought it was ambitious to think he'd be back this season, let alone seven weeks after surgery.
Bryant's final numbers for 2015 were all career lows: 9 games, 31 receptions for 401 yards (44.6 YPG) and 3 touchdowns. He ranks 82nd in total value, among all wideouts, according to Football Outsiders -- also a career low. In 2014, Bryant ranked 5th in the same metric.
Back in September, shortly after Bryant broke his foot, Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, who in 2011 had foot surgery similar to Bryant's, cautioned the Cowboys star not to rush his comeback.
“With Dez, he's just going to have to take time and get healed up properly,” Jones said at the time. “You don't want to rush it and then it sets you back. If you come back too early, then it can put you back again. So, my thing to Dez is, just get fully healthy and then you can go out there and help your teammates."
Jones said he re-injured that foot in 2013 and missed the final 11 games of the season. Meanwhile, the Cowboys -- and Jerry Jones -- don't think Bryant will be limited heading into next season, which would be welcome news after going 4-12 in 2015.
