IRVING, Texas– The Cowboys have officially shut down Dez Bryant for what's left of this 2015 season. And it sounds like the wide receiver might need another procedure to both the foot and/or ankle that has plagued him during the last part of the season.
After missing last week's game with a foot/ankle injury, Bryant was ruled out of Sunday's season finale with the Redskins, prompting the club to put him to injured reserve, along with Barry Church (fractured arm) and defensive end David Irving (wrist).
The Cowboys decided to fill the three roster spots with a pair of their own practice squad receivers – Vince Mayle and Rodney Smith. The Cowboys also signed cornerback Josh Thomas, a 2011 fifth-round pick of the team who has been with seven teams in the last four years.
Head coach Jason Garrett didn't have details, but expects Bryant to be re-evaluated with both injuries in the near future.
"We anticipate him having something done to both the foot and ankle here in the next week or so," Garrett said. "It had been bothering him. We just felt like we wanted to go back and look at it. We have to go back and help him get both the foot and the ankle healed up. It was not in the best interest of Dez or our football team to have play this Sunday."
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Bryant underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his right foot on Sept. 14, the day after the Week 1 win over the Giants. Bryant missed five games over a six-week period and returned to action on Nov. 1 against the Seahawks. In his second game back, Bryant made a leaping touchdown grab against the Eagles, but suffered the ankle injury that has bothered him for nearly two months.
Garrett dismissed the notion that Bryant was rushed, or rushed himself back from the previous injury too soon.
"Whenever a player is coming back from an injury, there are certain thresholds that he has to overcome and we go through that process very thoughtfully with everybody. And we did that with Dez. Unfortunately, this thing has continued to bother him – both the ankle and the foot. So we'll address that here in the coming days."
