The Facts: Owner Jerry Jones has said he expects Bryant to be back with the team next season. His son, Stephen Jones, seems far less married to that idea. Stephen, the team’s executive V.P. and CEO, has been critical of Bryant in certain instances this offseason. Stephen stayed on message when discussing Bryant on Thursday night. “No one wants to compete and get after it more than Dez,” Jones told David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. “At the same time, we all know this is a business where everyone had to be accountable. ... We’re going to be grinding it out trying to understand what is in our best interests of our business.”
Diehards Line:As PFT's Curtis Crabtree suggests, Bryant's production in 2017 wouldn’t seem to justify a $12.5 million salary this fall, particularly when Dallas would save $8.5 million against the salary cap in releasing him. However, Jerry still gets to call the shots and if he wants Bryant on the team, he’ll be on the team. That said, it appears the Jones brain trust continued to have mixed ideas about Bryant’s future with the Cowboys.