Cowboys have offered Dez Bryant some “really nice contracts”

Wide receiver Dez Bryant’s impending free agency has moved from a background story to something bigger in the last couple of weeks as a change in agents for Bryant and a report about the Cowboys’ concerns about his off-field activities have combined to bring the issue front and center.

As with just about any such issue involving the Cowboys, owner Jerry Jones has decided to share some thoughts on the matter. Jones didn’t directly address the report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Media that the Cowboys are concerned because the police have been to Bryant’s home six times in the last four years or that they’ve offered him a 10-year, $114 million contract with only $20 million in guaranteed money, but he did say he wants Bryant to stay in Dallas.

“What we want to do is have an agreement for the rest of Dez’s career,” Jones said, via the Dallas Morning News. “To me, that says a lot about the concern about off-the-field [issues] if we want him on the Dallas Cowboys for the rest of his career. I’m real impressed with how he’s evolved over the last several years, or we wouldn’t be in serious contract negotiations with him. So I think all of that is where it really is, and I do look for us to get something done with Dez.”

The issue isn’t whether the Cowboys want to keep Bryant, of course. The issue is whether they are trying to get Bryant to agree to a deal that’s heavily slanted in the team’s favor. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team has offered Bryant some “really nice contracts,” although what’s “really nice” to the team may not be greeted in the same way by the player.

Jerry Jones said he’s willing to “spend all the money,” but that it has to fit in a way that allows the team to remain competitive. There are a lot of ways to make that happen and the months to come will reveal which route they wind up taking in Dallas.