Tales of Dez Bryant's demise were premature.
NFL.com's Albert Breer cited a team source to report Thursday that Bryant will attempt to play in Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Dallas Cowboys receiver is leaning that way after gaining a second opinion Wednesday on the broken finger he suffered in a Week 14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bryant's thinking doesn't guarantee he will play, however. A team source told Breer the Cowboys will place a hard splint on Bryant's finger Thursday. The Cowboys want to see if the splint will provide enough protection to prevent permanent damage. Bryant will require surgery after the season if he puts it off now, the source told Breer.
"We don't have a definitive plan for Dez right now," coach Jason Garrett told reporters Thursday. "He did see the doctor (Wednesday) and nothing's really changed. We're going to see how he feels today and see if there's a chance that he can play. He went through the walk-through yesterday. He didn't do anything in practice yesterday.
"It seems like he's feeling fine, but we have to make a decision there as to what we want to do. Dez is certainly part of that decision. The medical analysis is part of that decision, as well."
Garrett said he doesn't anticipate Bryant catching passes in Thursday's session.
"We just have to decide what we want to do," Garrett said. "He certainly has a willingness to play and he certainly has the toughness to play. We just have to see if he can function as he needs do."
UPDATE: NFL.com's Ian Rapoport is on the scene at practice and reports that Bryant was on the field during the portion of the session open to the media.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
