Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant is active for Sunday's game against the Seahawks, the team announced Sunday.
He's expected wear a custom orthotic on his foot, and the Cowboys will put him on a pitch count of sorts, but with no set number of snaps, sources informed of his situation said.
Regardless, seven weeks after Bryant broke the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, he'll be back on the field for his reeling team.
Bryant did well in practice this week, but the Cowboys know practice is different than a game. But the bone is healing well, and they don't believe he's at further risk of injury. They are also expecting his mere presence to provide a lift for a team badly in need of a win.
Timelimes for Bryant's return from an injury he suffered on Sept. 13 varied greatly. Originally, the Cowboys said he'd miss four to six weeks, with the expectation that he'd be back at four.
They later adjusted his timetable to six to eight weeks. Meanwhile, a source revealed to me that Bryant had a bone graft done as part of his surgery on Sept. 14, which generally lengthens recovery to 10-12 weeks.
Yet the Cowboys' medical and training staff, widely respected around the NFL, took several steps to speed up Bryant's recovery from the Jones fracture. The bone graft they did was actually proactive, not as a result of a chronic component to the injury as is often the case. They used it to promote long-term healing.
A few weeks later, the Cowboys had Bryant undergo a procedure to remove bone marrow stem cells from his hip and inject them into his ankle. That was believed to accelerate the process, too. And Bryant worked hard with the training staff to get back as soon as he could.
Bryant practiced off to the side last week, and was a limited participant in practice this week. On Sunday, he'll be back.
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