DALLAS – In the decision to cut Dez Bryant on Friday, the Cowboys lost one of the greatest receivers in franchise history.
Starting quarterback Dak Prescott said Saturday he felt like he has lost more than that.
"Yeah obviously it's sad news. That's like a brother to me," Prescott said Saturday night at his inaugural Women's Clinic in Dallas, held at the Parish Episcopal High School. "You can put the football stuff behind you. What he meant to me as a person, what he meant to me as a brother. It's tough to see him go."
Other than a prepared statement from owner/GM Jerry Jones, the Cowboys didn't give many reasons as to why Bryant was released after eight seasons. However, the move does save the Cowboys about $8 million on this year's salary cap.
"It shows you, it's a business," Prescott said of the decision. "It motivates me. All it does is motivate me and put this in perspective. We've just got to go to work."
Prescott said his opinion was never asked by the Cowboys' front office in his thoughts on keeping or releasing Bryant. While he wanted that opportunity, he also understands why he wasn't involved in the process.
"I'm in my second year" Prescott said. "As much as you want to say, 'I want a say-so' or this and that, those guys get paid a lot more than me. That's what those guys get paid to do. That's not my decision. I didn't really know if it was happening. I can't say I full thought it would happen."
The quarterback said he has reached out to Dez in the last 24 hours.
"Yeah we've talked," he said. "We've traded text messages."
The Cowboys have signed two free agent receivers this offseason, including Allen Hurns, who has worked out with Prescott a few times already. Deonte Thompson is expected to be at the start of the voluntary offseason conditioning program, which begins Monday in Frisco.
But Prescott said it won't be easy replacing Bryant, the Cowboys' all-time leader in touchdown catches with 73.
"He's a great player. He did a lot of great things for us," he said of Dez. "He was a guy, man-to-man, you go to. At this point, we've got to figure that out with the guys we've got I'm sure we'll go after guys in the draft or free agency. All I can do is continue to get better at my job. Dez is going to be a hard guy to replace. He's a talented guy. He will be missed."
*Staff Writer Rob Phillips contributed to this report. *
