Jerry Jones: Dez Bryant Can Make 'Significant Contribution' to NFL Team

The Dallas Cowboys released wide receiver Dez Bryant this offseason, but team owner Jerry Jones believes the wideout still holds value.

"I wish and want Dez to have the opportunity to compete in the NFL," Jones said Wednesday, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. "I think he can, and I think he will. He's certainly got the right stuff and the real question is: As every player in his career deals with injury or deals with the length of his career, I think he's very capable mentally as well as physically to do the kinds of things that you have to to adjust as you move on through your career."

He continued: "I think that every evaluation that I've seen, Dez has an excellent opportunity to make a contribution and a significant contribution to a team. Our time was the time and the right time as far as our relationship, but that doesn't preclude him from being productive for another team."

Bryant, 29, had a disappointing 2017 season by the standards he set earlier in his career, catching 69 passes for 838 yards and six touchdowns. Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of 75.2, 47th among wide receivers.

The three-time Pro Bowler may never again be the elite option who was a first-team All-Pro in 2014, when he recorded 88 receptions for 1,320 yards and 16 touchdowns. From 2012 to 2014, Bryant registered at least 88 receptions, 1,200 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns each year.

Bryant hasn't hit 1,000 receiving yards or double-digit touchdowns in any season since.

Cowboys scouting chief Will McClay told ESPN 103.3 FM last week (h/t Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram) that Bryant's departure was performance-based, citing an inability "to win one-on-one, to win downfield. There was inconsistency as well as some huge things in his play."

Bryant's personality may have worn thin as well. As ESPN.com's Todd Archer reported when Bryant was released: "The cracks in the relationship started to show earlier this offseason when Jones said the sideline outbursts were a distraction. In the past, it had been written off as a measure of Bryant's passion or the television cameras catching the receiver at inopportune times, his actions taken out of context."

Bryant's $16.5 million cap hit for 2018 likely made it harder to ignore his lessened production or any clashes in personalities. On the other hand, without Bryant and tight end Jason Witten, who retired this offseason, the Cowboys head into next season with a downgraded receiving corps that features Allen Hurns, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley as the top three options.

On a new team, meanwhile, it's possible Bryant could be revitalized and post big numbers. He remains a threat in the red zone and was always dynamic at high-pointing the ball and leaping over defensive backs to make difficult catches.

There's a place for Bryant on an NFL team, but his time as a premier playmaker on the outside may be behind him.