Dez on Martavis Bryant Tryout: A Fit for Dallas Cowboys to Sign?

Dez on Martavis Bryant Tryout: A Fit for Dallas Cowboys to Sign?

As the Dallas Cowboys attempt to keep pace with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers -- two teams with multiple No. 1 receivers and star tight ends -- it's become increasingly clear that coach Mike McCarthy's offense is short on overall firepower. 

CeeDee Lamb is a star receiver, which was on full display in Sunday's tilt against the Eagles as he led all pass catchers with 11 receptions for 191 yards. However, the Cowboys still lost 28-23 to the division-rival Eagles, with Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup combining for just three catches and 26 yards. 

Cooks came to Dallas with six 1,000-yard receiving seasons on his resume, but has been mediocre to this point, as he has 17 catches for 165 yards to show for his first seven games with the Cowboys. Gallup has 22 catches for 243 yards in eight games this season, with his (pre-injury) 1,107-yard season in 2019 increasingly looking like an outlier. 

With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the Cowboys are going outside the box as they attempt to bolster the receiving corps at the disposal of quarterback Dak Prescott. 

So … the Cowboys will work out veteran receiver Martavis Bryant on Tuesday. NFL Media's Tom Pelissero recently reported that commissioner Roger Goodell has reinstated Bryant, who had previously been suspended indefinitely in December of 2018 for violating the "conditional reinstatement under the Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse." 

Veteran WR Martavis Bryant, who last played in the NFL in 2018, has been reinstated by Commissioner Roger Goodell and is drawing interest from teams, per his agent James Peterson.

Bryant, 31, has been training for a comeback and played in the XFL last summer. pic.twitter.com/2jDHNCiN6e

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 4, 2023

Once upon a time, Bryant looked like one of the more promising young receivers in the sport. A fourth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Clemson in 2014, Bryant had 50 catches for 765 yards in 2015, while catching passes from Ben Roethlisberger and playing alongside Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell. 

Could Martavis Bryant help the Dallas Cowboys down the stretch?  / USA Today

Bryant, though, was suspended for the entirety of the 2016 season, and hasn't played in the NFL since catching 19 passes for 266 yards while playing for the then-Oakland Raiders in 2018. He's had stints in both the CFL and XFL since, but signing him at this stage would be hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. It would be a lot like the multiple teams that gambled on receiver Josh Gordon's immense talent after his multiple suspensions. You may strike gold, but what's more likely is you'll get another guy to be part of your rotation of pass catchers.

That's not to say that the Cowboys shouldn't sign Bryant to their practice squad if he looks good in Tuesday's workout. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound wideout would become an instant threat for the Cowboys in the red zone. But signing him expecting him to develop into a legitimate compliment to Lamb, we say. would be unrealistic. 

Yea yea yea

He him! https://t.co/xULiVwcKYw

— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) November 6, 2023

In closing, though, what does Dez Bryant (no relation) think? Dez responded to our Mike Fisher’s tweet with an endorsement of the idea, writing, “Yea Yea Yea He (is) Him.”

What “is he” for certain? A tryout is worth finding out.