Well, so much for holdout drama.
Rookie receiver Dez Bryant--and, we suppose, his agent Eugene Parker deserves some credit as well--put an end to any speculation of such last night, when he agreed to a five-year, $11.8 million deal with Dallas, who selected him 24th overall this past April.
After running the gauntlet prior to the draft, fielding character questions up to and including whether his mom was a prostitute, it's clear that Bryant just wants to play football again; and, indeed, he held true to the promise he made at the scouting combine, that he would not miss a practice.
"This was very important to me to be able to get this done in time for the first practice,” said Bryant, per ESPNDallas.com. “I want to help this team. I want to compete. I can't wait to start playing football again."
After being suspended for all but three games in his final season at Oklahoma State--the result of an NCAA investigation into his relationship with former NFLer Deion Sanders--Bryant, and Dallas to be sure, were more than eager to get the proverbial ball rolling. Vice president Stephen Jones believes that Bryant will benefit from his decision in the short, as well as the long-term.
“You can make things difficult, but I think at the end of the day, the best thing that can happen to a rookie player is to get on the field right away,” said Jones. “That certainly helps his long-term career, which ultimately helps his viability as he moves forward as far as future contracts are concerned. You get those contracts based on how you perform in your first one."
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