Tag: Dez Bryant

Ravens WR Dez Bryant quits the season after testing positive for COVID-19

The Ravens, with or without Bryant, play the Browns on Monday night in Week 14

The drama with the Baltimore Ravens and their ongoing COVID-19 issues still isn’t over. And it just might have cost them a prominent player.

Wide receiver Dez Bryant was poised to get considerable playing time against his longtime team, the Dallas Cowboys, in the Tuesday night matchup in Baltimore. But Bryant was yanked off the field less than 20 minutes before the game after testing positive for COVID-19 in a rapid test.

Bryant, never one to hide his emotions, tweeted shortly thereafter that he’s done with the NFL for the rest of the season. Noting “I can’t deal with this”, Bryant quit just as the oddly scheduled game was about to kick off.

Bryant had seen some playing time with the Ravens after missing almost three full seasons. The wideout had a well-publicized audition with the Browns in that timeframe but never joined Cleveland.

Bryant also tweeted out something that definitely makes you wonder about the NFL’s protocols…

The Ravens, with or without Bryant, play at Cleveland on Monday Night Football in Week 14. It will be their third game in 13 days after the NFL bent over backward to accommodate the COVID-19 outbreak caused by a Ravens staffer not following protocols.

Dez Bryant tweets he is done for season after positive COVID-19 test

Dez Bryant was pulled from the Ravens’ lineup due to a positive COVID-19 test

Dez Bryant had to be excited about facing the Dallas Cowboys, his former team, with the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday.

And it all fell apart prior to the game when the veteran wide receiver was found to have tested positive for COVID-19.

According to the NFL, Bryant’s PCR test Tuesday morning was inconclusive, as was the re-run of the test. The lab is in Maryland, so that’s why the results came back on Tuesday evening.

The subsequent point-of-contact PCR test at the stadium was positive and Bryant was removed, as per NFL protocol.

(NSFW language in tweet)

Bryant took to Twitter and said he is done for 2020.

Bryant asked another question, which many have to be wondering:

The rationale for playing, which the NFL seems to always manage to find:

 

Dez Bryant says he tested positive for COVID-19 moments before kickoff against Cowboys

Dez Bryant was warming up on the field before he was tested.

Dez Bryant was just minutes away from facing his old team, the Dallas Cowboys, on Tuesday night when he says he was called in from warmups to take a COVID-19 test.

He then said he failed that test and was scratched from the Ravens roster.

Ouch.

The Ravens, of course, have been hit hard by COVID-19 the past few weeks. It was why last week’s game with the Steelers was pushed back three times and it’s why tonight’s game with the Cowboys was pushed back from last Thursday.

Bryant has worked so hard to come back to the NFL and while he would have loved to have faced his old team, here’s hoping the best for his health.

Here’s his tweet, with a bad word in it so run for the hills if you don’t like those things:

Shortly after that he tweeted that he wants to be done for the season:

That he was warming up with COVID doesn’t seem like the safest thing for the NFL and a Ravens team that has been dealing with this for weeks.

Here’s the news of the Ravens scratching him from the lineup:

That’s a bummer.

Dez Bryant says he tested positive for COVID-19 just before kickoff vs. Cowboys

The perfect ending to his comeback has been squashed as Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant says he tested positive for COVID-19

It seemed like the perfect way to cap a comeback for Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant. But alas, Bryant said he was pulled from warm ups and tested positive for COVID-19, ending a potential revenge game against his former team before he ever had a chance

Bryant joined Baltimore this season after a two-year absence from football. The last time Bryant had played in the regular season was with Dallas in 2017. Though he downplayed the matchup this week, saying his release from the team was “water under the bridge,” few would have blamed Bryant if this game meant just a little more to him.

The Ravens have been battling a COVID-19 outbreak that saw this week’s game reschedule twice and last week’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers rescheduled three times. Baltimore placed a total of 23 players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list following Week 11’s loss to the Tennessee Titans and if Bryant did indeed test positive for COVID-19, he’ll make the 27th Ravens player to go on the list this season.

Bryant had been on the field at M&T Bank Stadium for individual warmups a few hours before kickoff. If Bryant’s test isn’t a false positive, finding out so late after he had practiced this week, warmed up at the stadium, and had talked to several Cowboys players, leaves the potential for further outbreaks on both teams.

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News: How much fun was Dak, Cowboys’ most underrated; Dalton battles old foe

The Cowboys have underachieved in 2020, that’s for sure. But which player has flown the most under the radar and had a sneaky-good season? The answer may be trickier than expected. In other news just prior to the club’s first-ever Tuesday game, …

The Cowboys have underachieved in 2020, that’s for sure. But which player has flown the most under the radar and had a sneaky-good season? The answer may be trickier than expected.

In other news just prior to the club’s first-ever Tuesday game, we’re talking about a former wide receiver facing the Cowboys for the first time, a new Dallas player who knows a thing or two (or sixteen) about playing the Ravens, and remembering another ex-Cowboy who’s making waves with his new team. We’ve got injury news to recap, including the superstar who’s been placed on IR and a position group that won’t have two (more) of its big hitters this week. All that, plus a look at how the NFC East is shaking out, an early preview of Week 17’s rematch with Jason Garrett and the Giants, and a super-early discussion of how COVID-19 will impact Dak Prescott and the franchise tag. Here’s the News and Notes.

Ravens vs. Cowboys: 7 fun facts about this Week 13 matchup

The Ravens take on the Cowboys in Week 13. Here are seven things you didn’t know you didn’t know about this series.

At the start of the 2020 season, two offenses that most people were looking forward to watching in the weeks ahead were the Baltimore Ravens and the Dallas Cowboys. Both teams seemed stacked with exciting playmakers at every level, including two high-caliber quarterbacks. The Week 13 clash between the two was expecting to see two playoff-bound juggernauts duking it out in the cold.

Things haven’t exactly gone according to plan for either team since then, sadly. However, the 6-5 Ravens and the 3-8 Cowboys are not dead just yet. And this week’s matchup should provide some points of interest. Indeed, the small number of games between the two sides has produced some interesting connections. Here are seven of my favorites.

Dez Bryant’s past in Dallas is ‘water under the bridge’ but he’s ‘looking forward to’ facing Cowboys

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant hopes to help Baltimore stay in the playoff hunt against his former team, the Dallas Cowboys.

In 2010, the Dallas Cowboys traded up one spot ahead of the Baltimore Ravens to select wide receiver Dez Bryant in the NFL draft. Now, in Week 13 of the 2020 NFL season, Bryant will be facing his former team as a member of the Ravens.

Baltimore signed Bryant to their practice squad on Oct. 27. after initially having him work out for the team during training camp and once again before inking a contract. It didn’t take long for Bryant to make a positive impression at practice and not much longer after that to make his way to the Ravens’ 53-man roster.

Bryant and the Ravens face off against a Cowboys team that is still in the playoff hunt despite having a 3-8 record, thanks to being in the terrible NFC East division. Baltimore is in the AFC playoff picture themselves, currently a game behind the Indianapolis Colts for the No. 7 and final seed. A win this week wouldn’t just help the Ravens, however; it would be the exclamation point on Bryant’s comeback story.

But we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves here and need to take it back to Bryant’s time with the Cowboys to get the full picture of why this game might mean so much to him.

Bryant became one of the league’s best wide receivers during his eight years in Dallas. The three-time Pro Bowler and 2014 First-Team All-Pro Bryant played in 113 games, catching 531 passes for 7,459 yards and 73 touchdown receptions with the Cowboys. But despite his production, Dallas released Bryant in April 2018 when he still had two years remaining on his contract.

While Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones put out a heartfelt statement following Bryant’s release, the love didn’t go both ways initially. Bryant accused then-coach Jason Garrett’s staff and favorite players of pushing him off the team. Though Bryant wouldn’t say specifically which people were “Garret guys,” he was upset at the group for not being named a team captain near the end of his tenure.

With a few years and Bryant admitting he’s matured, those feelings have softened though.

“For the most part it’s water under the bridge,” Bryant said to reporters during a Zoom call Saturday. “That’s two years I had to get myself together.”

Bryant’s comeback to the NFL has been one of the more interesting and inspiring storylines during a very difficult and confusing 2020 season. After signing with the New Orleans Saints in 2018, Bryant suffered a torn Achilles before his first game. The injury not only ended his venture in New Orleans but put him out of football through the 2019 season too. By the time 2020 rolled around, most people thought Bryant’s playing days were behind him. Bryant himself seemed to think the same thing, but it was his daughter’s questioning made him give it another shot in earnest.

“My daughter kept asking me if I was going to play football and I just ignored the question,” Bryant continued Saturday. “I was like, ‘You know what, baby? I’m going to give it a go.'”

Bryant has been active for three games with the Ravens this season, catching four passes for 28 yards. While fans have been wanting Bryant’s role on offense to increase — especially with the lackluster production from others — he’s just doing what he can to be prepared for when his number is eventually called.

“Whatever the coaches have for me, I’m going to be prepared for,” Bryant said. “I’m going to let the coaches do what they feel is best, and I’m just going to follow their lead.”

Where Bryant hasn’t been much of a factor for an ailing Baltimore offense so far, this week against his former team might just finally be the game it all comes together for the 32-year-old wide receiver. At the least, offensive coordinator Greg Roman seems to think this game might mean a little more to Bryant.

“I’m sure there’s an extra glimmer this week for him,” Roman said Saturday. “There always is when you go up against one of your old teams – and in his case, his old team.”

Despite being released by his former team and the harsh words he had for them at the time, Bryant and Jones are like two peas in a pod and there’s some legitimate respect to be found.

“One thing about Mr. Jerry Jones is he’s very passionate and I am very passionate,” Bryant said. “The one thing I’ll always have for Mr. Jones is respect. I’m thankful that he drafted me and gave me the opportunity to play for his franchise.”

Bryant will take the field on Tuesday standing across from defenders that wear the jersey he once wore for eight seasons. With Tuesday’s game possibly being a must-win for the Ravens to stay in the playoff hunt, we may see Bryant throw up his first “X” in the end zone this season.

“I’m a Texas boy so I grew up a Cowboys fan,” Bryant said. “I’m excited to be a Baltimore Raven. I’m looking forward to going up those guys on Tuesday.”

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Cowboys News: Dez Bryant reunion nears, draft talk abounds

The latest news ahead of the Cowboys-Ravens game, injury reports and matchup previews, and more.

Just when it began to feel like the Dallas Cowboys had a chance to emerge from the NFC East and make the playoffs, that door was likely slammed shut with the Thanksgiving loss to the Washington Football Team. The loss potentially helped Dallas secure a top pick in next year’s draft, but who should the Cowboys target? Our own K.D. Drummond and CBS Sports’ Patrik Walker examine the top prospects who fit with Dallas, the Cowboys’ needs, and more in the latest edition of the Catch This Fade Podcast.

The Cowboys are set to take on the Ravens on Tuesday, after a string of COVID cases pushed the Baltimore game back in back-to-back weeks. Get the latest updates for both teams, an offensive and defensive preview of the Ravens. Plus, which players should Dallas re-sign in the offseason, and how can they improve the defense?

News: Cowboys scout Ravens live, Post Malone flaunts ‘#1 Fan’ bling

Also, Dez Bryant’s imminent return to Dallas, which free agents are worth re-signing, and breaking down Randy Gregory’s techniques.

A surreal week in Dallas has hit the halfway mark. The Cowboys took advantage of the unusual opportunity to watch their next opponent play live, with more practices to go in which to adjust to what they saw. That comes as the team prepares to say its final farewell to a beloved member of the coaching staff, and as a fan favorite prepares to come back to town wearing enemy colors. Strange times, indeed.

But some are already looking ahead to next season, either forecasting the status of one of the team’s supposed strengths, making a case for which free agents are worth re-signing, or trying to speak into existence who the club should select with their first-round draft pick. There’s tape to break down on how Randy Gregory has come so far so fast in his football comeback, and words of wisdom from Dak Prescott to NFL rookies as he deals with a season cut short. There’s a mini-history lesson on Wednesday football, a TV ratings win for America’s Team, and a bit of celebrity news as a rap star puts his Cowboys fandom on full display with a pricey pendant. Here’s the News and Notes.

Cowboys News: Who would trade up for Cowboys pick, Jerry hearts Dez

Jerry Jones praised former Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant on Tuesday. With no team over four wins, the Cowboys can still win the NFC East.

Dez Bryant had a stellar career during his eight years with the Dallas Cowboys and formed a great bond with team owner Jerry Jones. The boss of America’s Team spoke highly of his former receiver on Tuesday ahead of the Cowboys matchup with Bryant’s new team, the Baltimore Ravens next week. The Cowboys suffered a humiliating loss on Thanksgiving, but with no NFC East team over four wins, the division is still winnable.

The Cowboys experience tragedy last week when strength and conditioning coach Markus Paul passed away, and their grieving process is only in its infant stage. Zack Martin and Cam Erving will both miss multiple weeks with injuries, which has forced Joe Looney to be the centerpiece of the offensive line. The coaching staff’s biggest issue, what’s caused Washington to run wild on the Cowboys defense, and a list of teams that could trade up with the Cowboys for a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft, and more are covered in this edition of the news notes.