'Pay Dak': Dez Blasts 'Out of Line' Cowboys For Andy Dalton Signing
FRISCO - Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant on Saturday ripped his old employer for its Andy Dalton acquisition while Dak Prescott remains unsigned. And while his passion is appreciated - as it almost always is in this space - it is also misplaced.
"Nothing against Andy Dalton because I think he’s a great player,'' Bryant tweeted, "but the Cowboys are extremely out of line. Pay Dak.''
Bryant insinuated something odd when he also wrote, "I watched the Cowboys pay Tony (Romo) twice once without (him having) a winning record.'' And Dez also insinuated - as many have in the wake of the signing of the street-free-agent Dalton - that it was both a "slap'' to Prescott and a "message'' to him.
When we countered to Bryant that Cowboys management had already explained to us that the signing is "not meant as a threat'' to Prescott, but rather as a way of strengthening the roster by providing Dak with an accomplished veteran as a backup, he wasn't buying it.
"I was told a lot of things before and things ended up false,'' Bryant responded to me.
Bryant's tweet created a firestorm of concern over the situation, with far too many commenters (media and fans) either demonstrating a penchant for pot-stirring or leaning toward ignorance. Romo did of course get a pair of big contracts from Dallas - just as Prescott has a big offer on the table now ... a pair of them, in fact, as he can either accept the existing $31.409 million franchise-tag offer, or continue to negotiate a long-term deal that we've reported presently would land him $35 million AP and more than $106 million guaranteed.
Yes, that's the offer presently on the table from the Cowboys to Dak. He's well within his rights to not accept it, just as Dez is well within his rights to express his opinion - or even what he believes to be "his truths.''
But the Cowboys' offer to Dak Prescott is not "out of line.'' Their continued attempts to build a quality roster by signing Andy Dalton (and paying him a base salary that's only $1 million more than incumbent backup Cooper Rush) is not "out of line.''
And really, my guy Dez Bryant is not "out of line,'' either. He's just wrong.