Dez Bryant Actively Recruited By Tight End Delanie Walker
By Erik Lambert
The Dez Bryant situation has shocked a lot of people. It’s not every day a former Pro Bowler like him remains available this late in the offseason.
Thus far teams haven’t been willing to take a chance on the 29-year old. There is any number of reasons why. The most popular could be his long history of being a distraction. Bryant is an emotional player and isn’t afraid to let those emotions be known in a public setting at times. These days teams don’t like that because of the massive media coverage that inevitably follows.
Another possibility is simple money. Bryant still views himself as star wide receiver despite the down year he had in 2017. He expects to get paid like he’s still at that level. Teams seem to disagree. So they’re waiting. Sooner or later he’s bound to break and accept a cheaper deal. This assuming he wants to play this season. It’s a matter of finding the right fit.
A prominent player from one team became the first to speak openly about loving the idea of bringing in a talent like Bryant.
Delanie Walker among first to embrace the Bryant possibility
Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker spoke with the Dallas Morning News during his appearance at Michael Crabtree’s youth football camp. When the subject of Bryant came up, he didn’t seem too troubled at the idea of the veteran receiver joining the Titans offense.
"“[W]e’ve got some good, premier receivers on our team, Corey Davis, Rishard Matthews. It’s another element if they was to bring him to the team. If he can help us out, gladly I would welcome him with open arms.I see him in my type of situation, you know, an older vet guy,” Walker said. “And I’m able to play at a high level, so I’m still sure he’s able to play at a high level. People have got to remember, it’s football. Some years you’re going to have bad years, some years you’re going to have good years. And, you know, they’ve got to look at the better years he had than him having one bad year.”"
It’s an interesting scenario. Nashville isn’t a major media market, so Bryant wouldn’t be near as big a distraction as he would be in Dallas, New York or one of the other major cities. Marcus Mariota would no doubt welcome another passing target for his arsenal as well. The question is could new head coach Mike Vrabel handle such a volatile personality? Walker doesn’t seem perturbed by the idea. Something to keep an eye on for sure.