FRISCO, Texas – Dez Bryant said Friday he could've done a better job addressing his knee injury – an admission that sums up this entire strange week for the Cowboys.
Bryant's postgame MRI, which is a fairly typical occurrence in the physical world of the NFL, spawned a week's worth of speculation when it was delayed by two days. The delayed prognosis – eventually determined to be a hairline fracture -- prompted some intense scrutiny about the Cowboys' organizational procedures and communication.
Echoing his head coach's comments from Thursday, Bryant said it all stemmed from his fear that his injury would be far more serious than initially thought.
"I love the Dallas Cowboys from each and every angle, and when you go out here and have a great time with the group of guys in this locker room and with the coaching staff here, and you're dealing with the knee injury that occurred on Sunday night – things kind of, sort of got difficult for me, from that standpoint," he said. "Like I said, I just really didn't want to know what the issue was."
Bryant missed team meetings on Tuesday and was absent again on Wednesday while he underwent scans. Jason Garrett said Thursday morning that he had talked with Bryant about handling the situation more gracefully, which the All-Pro receiver reiterated Friday afternoon.
"I wish I would've did a better job," Bryant said. "Me and Coach, we talked it out. It was a good conversation – it was good. Like we always do, we learn from things and get better."
Aside from any off-field discussions, the Cowboys still must determine Bryant's status on the field. He did not participate in Friday's practice, which means he's been absent from on-field activities since last weekend's win against the Bears.
All signs seem to point toward Bryant sitting out of Sunday's game against San Francisco, but the Cowboys have not made an official determination on his status. Bryant himself classified the injury as "day-to-day."
"It's a day-to-day thing," he said. "Like I told you, I feel good, I'm getting better each and every day. We're just going to go from there."
Bryant also told reporters that the Cowboys' desire is to be safe, and that there's a lot of season left in front of this team – again, possibly suggesting he won't be ready to play in two days' time.
Regardless of what the plan is for Sunday, Bryant and the Cowboys will undoubtedly be happy to have this part of the conversation finished with. From this point forward, they can focus on helping Bryant recover from his injury – rather than figuring out what it is.
"Like I said, things could have been done a lot different. I could've done a way better job on my part," Bryant said. "Luckily it was way better than what I thought. Everything is good. I'm just ready to get back on the field – whenever that time is."
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