Dez Bryant Injury: Updates on Cowboys Star's Foot and Return

Dez Bryant underwent surgery Sept. 14 to have a screw inserted into his right foot to repair the fifth metatarsal bone he injured during the Dallas Cowboys' Week 1 victory over the New York Giants. He finally returned to the lineup in Week 8.

Continue for updates.

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Bryant Active for Week 8

Sunday, Nov. 1

The Cowboys did not list Bryant among the team's inactives against the Seattle Seahawks.

On Friday, Bryant was officially listed as questionable to play, per Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. However, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported prior to kickoff that he is expected to play. He also noted that while the "Cowboys would like to monitor his snaps, Bryant has other ideas." 

On Oct. 28, Bleacher Report's Jason Cole first reported Bryant was expected to play:

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Latest on Bryant's Practice Status Ahead of Week 8

Friday, Oct. 30

The Cowboys announced Bryant was a limited participant in practice all week.  

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Garrett Comments on Bryant's Progress

Thursday, Oct. 29

Head coach Jason Garrett said Bryant had a good day of practice on Wednesday, per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. Garrett added the wideout would get more chances on Thursday.

"Dez is going to work each day, and as this week goes on he’s going to take it day by day," said Garrett on Oct. 28. "Hopefully he can handle the work, and we’ll make our best judgments as a coaching staff as to what his role may or may not be for this weekend."

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Jones Comments on Bryant's Status

Tuesday, Oct. 20

Prior to being ruled out for Week 7, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Bryant had a chance to play "if his healing foot (responded) well in practices," per Mark Maske of the Washington Post. 

On Oct. 6, Jones spoke about Bryant on 105.3 The Fan, per Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

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Dez, of course, is Superman. I say that without a smile. He heals extraordinarily quick. His procedure went well. He's sound with the procedure. Everything they did, by the way, the [bone] graft all that, it enhances his chance to get out there. I think he's got a chance to do it after the bye.

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Jones' belief falls in line with an Oct. 4 report from CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora:

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Bryant continues to tell teammates and friends that he expects to play against the Giants in Week 7. ...

Some reports have suggested Bryant's rehab could be at least a three-month recovery. However, Bryant has not been told that a return after the Cowboys' Week 6 bye is out of the question. He continues to tell others that he expects to play in Week 7 and the Cowboys maintain that is a realistic outcome as well.

"They're not just saying that," said one source with knowledge of the situation. "That's not a made up return date. Dez has every intention of playing in the Giants game."

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Bryant Comments on Rehab and Recovery

Thursday, Oct. 15

"I'm getting back," Bryant said, via Machota. "I'm getting right. If it's the Giants, it's the Giants. That's the plan."

Bryant gave an update on his recovery on Sept. 24, via Mike Fisher of CBS DFW:

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Things are going perfectly. My foot feels great. Feels like it's healing great. ...

But I'm not doing anything foolish and I'm not going to do anything foolish. I'm not even jogging yet! But I'm doing everything (the medical people) tell me to do, weight room, everything.

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Bryant released a statement following surgery on Sept. 14:

"I'll be back soon," he tweeted after Dallas' 27-26 come-from-behind season-opening victory.

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Jones Reveals Bryant Received Injection

Sunday, Oct. 11

Jones announced to USA Today Sports that Bryant "received a therapeutic injection in Colorado on Friday in an effort to bolster his healing from a fractured right foot," according to Jarrett Bell of USAToday.com.

"There is not a concern about his progress," Jones said. "The fact that he can do that [injection therapy] is a positive. This was not something to address something that was a surprise or anything. It was something to get him some additional strength."

Bell also noted "the procedure involved Bryant having bone marrow stem cells removed from his hip and injected into his ankle, a person with knowledge of the case told USA Today Sports. The person requested anonymity because they are not supposed to talk about Bryant's condition."

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Conflicting Reports on How Bone Graft Impacts Bryant's Recovery

Sunday, Sept. 20

"[Bryant] had a standard bone graft as part of his surgery to repair his broken foot, sources told ESPN, and the team is hopeful that he can return to the lineup by Oct. 25," ESPN.com reported.

Citing a source, Werder noted the "bone graft performed during [Bryant's] foot surgery enhances prospects for him to return in around [six] weeks. Team prepared for [eight]." He added, "Whether they are right or not nobody knows, but [the Cowboys] right now believe [Bryant] has realistic chance to return in [eight] weeks or less."

Rapoport noted, "Long-term, a bone graft is good news for [Bryant's] foot healing. Short-term, it lengthens his timeframe." He added that "after his surgery, [Bryant] told [Michael Irvin] he was getting ready for the playoff run."

Regarding the nature of the bone graft, however, Fisher expressed the "graft does not change [Cowboys'] recovery time for [Bryant]. It's designed to lessen chance of re-fracture." Citing a source, he added that the "Cowboys see nothing abnormal" regarding the surgery and "think [the] screw/graft enhances chances to recover in [six weeks]."

Fisher had provided insight after the surgery as to why Bryant's injury could wind up requiring his replacements to carry the torch longer than expected, using Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant as an example:

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To complicate things, surgery does not guarantee a speedy recovery, and the odds of a re-fracture in the area are high, as Durant experienced firsthand last year in his lost season. Problems following surgery generally are associated with the surgical hardware as it can bend, fail or even break. Follow-up procedures are often utilized to address any hardware-related problems, lengthening the time missed.

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Replacements, Potential Game Plan for Cowboys After Bryant's Injury

The Cowboys traded for Brice Butler after Archer previously reported, "The Cowboys will begin the process of replacing [Bryant] with veterans Hakeem Nicks, Nick Toon, Austin Pettis and Clyde Gates coming in for workouts."

As far as internal options, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Devin Street, Lance Dunbar and Witten must carry the load in the passing game with Bryant on the shelf for an extended period of time.

Witten is one of the most reliable pass-catchers in the league and topped 700 receiving yards in each of the last 11 years, including four seasons with over 1,000 yards. Williams and Street are both young options with speed and high ceilings, and Beasley is a shifty slot option who will take advantage of mismatches over the middle.

Rob Phillips of DallasCowboys.com weighed in on the Cowboys' potential plan moving forward without Bryant:

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The offense is still going to try to establish the run, but to your point, receivers will have to win one-on-one matchups if defenses do start creeping an extra defender in the box. Jason Witten might see more bracket coverage without Bryant commanding his own double-teams. This is a big opportunity for Terrance Williams, who has had plenty of practice time as the lead receiver since the offseason. I wonder if this means more Gavin Escobar. We saw again Sunday what he can do in the red zone and he has receiver-like traits.

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Between Bryant's injury and the loss of Tony Romo with a collarbone injury, it has been an uphill climb for the Cowboys as they try to find production on offense without their top two players on offense.