Dez Bryant is back in the NFL, and officially, after catching his first pass(es) since 2017 to solidify his return in Week 11 against the Tennessee Titans. After signing the legendary Dallas Cowboys receiver to the practice squad in late October, the Baltimore Ravens elevated him to the active roster twice before finally deciding to permanently add him — as allowed by the amended 2020 practice squad rules. It’s been a long journey for the former All-Pro receiver following his release from the Dallas Cowboys in April 2018, having conditioned feverishly following a torn Achilles suffered after signing with the New Orleans Saints in November that same year.
Bryant was emotional after signing on with the Ravens this season, and wasted no time expressing himself following the team’s original decision to activate him on Nov. 7 — taking more steps to get to where he is right now.
“I told you I’m covered confident and thankful,” Bryant said, via Twitter. “I don’t care who hate[s] it.”
One person who doesn’t hate it at all is owner Jerry Jones, who has a special relationship with Bryant after trading up in the 2011 NFL Draft to select him with the 24th-overall pick. The latter went on to set franchise records for the team — his touchdown tally of 73 is still the most in Cowboys history — and it was especially difficult for Jones to part ways with Bryant following the 2017 season. The two remained close despite shots hurled from Bryant toward Jason Garrett and the coaching staff following the split, and remain so to this day. Jones is about to get his first dose of what it feels like to play against Bryant though, and he’s hoping the Cowboys secondary is ready to face one of its living legends.
“Dez has an eternal light of good, and I mean that,” Jones told 105.3FM the Fan ahead of the coming matchup with the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday night. “If you love a competitor, or if you love somebody that doesn’t do his whole being is about getting to compete. He’s got his teammates’ best interests [at heart] –great teammate. Dez is an eternal light of positiveness for our game.
“I couldn’t be happier to see him on the field. Now, I’m going to be a little worried because I do know how that rascal can get up there and get a ball.”
Bryant finished his career with the Cowboys having not only grabbed the aforementioned 73 TDs (1st), but his 7,487 receiving yards is fifth-most in team history. Time and again, Bryant came up with electric catches when Jones and the Cowboys needed them most, and he nearly joined Tony Romo in lifting the Cowboys to their first NFC Conference Game in two decades with one of them, if not for an overturn on review in the waning moments against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional round — after the grab was initially ruled a catch on the field.
So, yes, Jones knows full well what Bryant is capable of, because although he’s a bit older now, the fiery three-time Pro Bowler always finds another gear when there’s a chip on his shoulder. And for as much as he still loves Jones, Bryant would also love nothing better than to prove to the Cowboys he’s still got some juice. This is especially true after having lobbied so feverishly to rejoin the team in 2020 in the wake of the Cowboys divorce from Garrett, but while they were suddenly and surprisingly open to the idea, it never materialized.
Whether the Cowboys were ever truly close to bringing back Bryant prior to drafting CeeDee Lamb and awarding him No. 88 is a topic too close to heart for Jones to discuss, and so he won’t.
“Listen, I don’t want to get into that because of the personal nature,” the Hall of Fame owner said. “It was a very personal thing for me, more so than normal, to when we went through that time and that change. Dez and I had spent some of our — my best time — years whatever you want to call it. But we’d spent some of our best together on and off the field. So, I wouldn’t get into how close or anything like that.
“It hurt to not, because of the things I’m saying, it hurt not to have Dez.”
And if the struggling Cowboys secondary — now absent Trevon Diggs — can’t put up a fight against him, Bryant might show the Cowboys an ‘X’ or two on Tuesday, adding another notch to his NFL comeback.
