Dez Bryantwasn't bashful about why he thought the Dallas Cowboys decided to move on from him.
Stephen Jones, on the other hand, didn't see things as clearly.
"I think it's always difficult because Dez was an amazing player for us," the Cowboys chief operating officer and executive vice president said during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday. "He helped us win a lot of football games. At the same time, these things happen in our business."
These things -- releasing a player who's making more money than his performance is worth -- indeed happen in pro sports. But what Bryant chalked it up to -- him not being one of the "Garrett guys," who he said expedited his departure -- isn't as common. Not surprisingly, Jones pleaded ignorance on the latter.
"I don't understand that comment," Jones said. "I certainly respect anybody that has a comment about the organization. You certainly always see things when it's difficult for a player to take the next step. Whether it's a Larry Allen, Demarcus Ware, an Emmitt Smith, all Hall of Famers who ended up playing with another team. Those things are hard.
"You know, when you have decided to move on maybe there's a thought in your mind [the player] that you weren't a particular coach's guy or an organizational guy. But I certainly don't see that on this football team."
Cowboys veteran tight end Jason Witten was equally perplexed over Bryant's comments regarding "Garrett guys."
"I don't know what all that's about," Witten said, according to the team's official website. "I know, when you go through these processes, there's a lot of things that probably go into it. But I know I enjoyed my time with Dez, and I think that I appreciated everything that we did. I certainly invested a lot in him, and he helped me become a better player, too."
For his part, coach Jason Garrett described it as a tough decision for the team to release Bryant.
"I love Dez Bryant. I love him," Garrett said. "I love everything about him as a person and a player. I'm so appreciative of the opportunity to coach him. He's one of the great players ever to play in this franchise, and he's a special guy. ... "It's not an easy decision for us to make. He's been such a great player and a big part of our organization. But again, we made the decision in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys."
Thank Player X for contribution, wish Player X the best, move on and refute any insinuation there were cliques or turmoil in the locker room. This is pretty standard fare from a team that has recently released one of its star players of the last decade.
We likely won't know the depth of the locker room dynamic until most of these guys are retired and left only to tell war stories. Bryant isn't afraid to speak his piece, but there isn't much more to say than what's already been said (unless he starts naming names). Instead, we'll watch to see where he lands, and if/how Dallas (which currently has a trio of Terrance Williams, Allen Hurns and Cole Beasley at receiver) replaces him.
