The Dez Bryant free-agency hunt is going … poorly.
The talented-but-untethered free-agent wide receiver is no closer to finding a new NFL team, even as the season draws nearer. Bryant has visited the Cleveland Browns and has flirted on social media with the New England Patriots and came away with nothing, which means it’s getting late for him unless he can find a way for his talent to trump his temperament.
Bryant, who was released by the Dallas Cowboys in the spring, and the Browns seemed to have mutual interest, but that has cooled and now Josh Gordon is headed back. That puts the Browns in the driver’s seat and Yahoo’s Charles Robinson reports that “the door remains open with a caveat.” Coach Hue Jackson wants to see how he would mesh with players in the locker room, alongside Gordon and with offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
The Patriots released Kenny Britt on Wednesday, which would seem to put them in the Bryant market. But the team that has dealt with receivers with an ego, like Randy Moss, was reported to “probably” have no interest even though he heaped praise on Bill Belichick and Tom Brady earlier in the week.
“I just don’t think he’s that guy the kind of receiver they want in this type of offense,” Troy Brown, a former Patriots receiver, told NBC Sports Boston. “Obviously people are seeing some things in the guy that they may not care for a whole lot. I just don’t think he runs the type of routes the Patriots want in a receiver right now.”
The Patriots could bring back Jordan Matthews, whom they cut earlier this month when Julian Edelman begins serving his four-game suspension with the start of the season. They do have Eric Decker and have Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson, which means that they, like the Browns, hold the upper hand.
Part of the problem is, of course, Bryant, who was a distraction at times in Dallas with his sideline antics. And then there’s the question of what and whether he would contribute on the field. He believes he’s a No. 1 receiver, but his best days at that position have passed. He’s more valuable as a red-zone threat, if his temperament can handle that.
Robinson notes that criticism of Bryant, who turns 30 in November, usually surrounds his performance since hurting his foot in 2015 and what Robinson calls an “inconsistency as a ‘program’ guy, which the coaching staff and some elements of the locker room felt waned significantly in 2017.” Word gets around in the NFL and a player’s value can plummet if coaches think he would be a distraction, one of the things they dread most.
An evaluator whom Robinson did not identify told him that Bryant favored running four routes and those aren’t delivering for him now. He also isn’t known for being precise with his routes, something that drives quarterbacks batty.
“That’s why he’s not signed,” the evaluator said. “Because he’s not going to suddenly start running all these other routes and doing all the little things you have to do to be a great player.”
Robinson contends that Bryant has misjudged the market and the window quickly closed on him. Will it open before the opener?