The Dallas Cowboys temporarily solved their dilemma regarding Dez Bryant when they decided to use the franchise tag provision on the star wide receiver. Now, the team has until July 15 to reach a long-term deal with Bryant. If they cannot, then Bryant would play out the year under the franchise tender, and the team would be in the same position after next season.
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Even though the team has until the middle of July to reach a deal with Bryant, they may work to get one done consderably sooner. The team has many needs to fill in free agency, and having a long-term deal in place with Bryant would allow them to free up cap room that they can use to help out at other positions.
The team could always restructure the deal of quarterback Tony Romo, who has a trigger in his contract that the team can use to clear room if they need it, according to isportsweb.com. However, due to the recent problems that Romo has had with his back, the team may want to keep his cap number high this year so that if he suffers a serious injury that leaves him a vastly diminished player in the next few years, they can move on from him without incurring huge amounts of dead money on their cap.
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The Cowboys have claimed that they want to make Bryant a "Cowboy for life," and agreeing on a long-term contract is the easiest path to freeing up cap space that they can use during free agency this offseason, so what is the team waiting for?
Rumors abounded that the team was dragging its feet because of the controversy surrounding the alleged Ray Rice-type video of Bryant, but those rumors appear increasingly to be unfounded.
Dallas was not expected to do much shopping at the top of the free agent market anyway, so there is no need to rush a Bryant signing, but if both sides already want Dez to stay with the team for years to come, then agreeing on a deal should not take all that much work, and they should strive to complete it during the early part of free agency, which would allow them to fill out the roster with solid veterans and chase another NFC East crown.
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