The Dez Bryant situation in Dallas has lingered over the Cowboys offseason, with Bryant taking up a ton of cap space and sounding like someone who would not be interested in taking a pay cut. A Friday move by Dallas, which took a dip into the free agency pool to land free agency wideout Allen Hurns, could signal some clarity.
Josina Anderson of ESPN first reported, via Hurns, that the Cowboys were signing the wide receiver, who was released by the Jaguars earlier this offseason.
WR Allen Hurns just told me, “I’m going to sign with Dallas.” #Cowboys
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 23, 2018
If Hurns isn't the top available wideout on the market, he's up there. You could nitpick and put Jordan Matthews or Eric Decker or Jeremy Maclin, but Hurns is just 26 and has been productive with Blake Bortles as his quarterback. It's a two-year deal for the Cowboys and a nice add to a depth chart that's secretly lacking in skill-position weapons for Dak Prescott.
It's now Dez, Hurns, Cole Beasley, Terrance Williams, Deonte Thompson, Noah Brown, Ryan Switzer, Lance Lenoir and Brian Brown on the depth chart at wide receiver.
Dez isn't a true No. 1 anymore, but Williams is an OK No. 3 and Hurns is an above average No. 2 wideout. Those three guys plus Beasley and Switzer in the slot gives you something to work with.
It also means the Cowboys are probably not going to draft a wideout in the first round, or at least not one who can make an impact right away. Unless they plan on cutting Dez and drafting someone who can start (Calvin Ridley? D.J. Moore?) anyway.
That seems like a very reasonable move given they would save $8.5 million by cutting Bryant -- the same amount that a guy like Earl Thomas would cost to acquire in a trade --
Mike Fisher of 105.3 the Fan in Dallas is told that Hurns is "affordable" and therefore the Cowboys will be able to hold onto Dez.
Exclusive: #Cowboys sources tell me likely $ agreement w WR Allen Hurns ‘so affordable’ that DAL intends to ALSO retain Dez Bryant. pic.twitter.com/sKxlbAbtGn
— mike fisher ✭ (@fishsports) March 23, 2018
Maybe the spot to look instead is at the slot position. Beasley has been a tremendous weapon for the Cowboys and a nice security blanket for Prescott. But he would save the Cowboys more than $3 million in salary cap space if they cut him, and they could slide Switzer into the slot position, giving them a pretty decent little lineup.
It's still not a long-term setup that you want, so maybe the Cowboys stay in the mix in the draft.
The Bryant thing perplexes us: he's a very notable and famous Cowboy and Jerry Jones loves him. But Dallas needs to figure out a way to get his cap number down before the start of the season unless the team believes he's going to drink from the fountain of youth and turn back into his dominant pre-2015 self.
