Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant is always in good shape. You just have to look at his 6-foot-2, 220-pound frame to see that. But there's a difference between being in shape and being in good football shape. The NFL demands a level of physical fitness that is virtually unparalleled in professional sports.
So when Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones recently mentioned Bryant's conditioning last year, he was directly referring to Bryant's football conditioning.
Bryant was absent for almost all of the offseason program in 2015 after getting slapped with the franchise tag. He did not sign a five-year, $70 million deal until July 15, a few short weeks before training camp opened.
After easing him into drills, Bryant strained his hamstring and was sidelined for half of training camp and all four preseason games. Then, in the season opener, he broke his right foot and missed five additional outings. It was really worst-case scenario in Big D last year.
Bryant ended up appearing in just nine games, catching only 31 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns.
The star pass-catcher underwent a second surgery on his right foot in January, and though he isn't 100 percent recovered just yet, Jones noted that the team is happy with his progress so far. It is expected that he'll be back on the field in some capacity by June's minicamp.
More importantly, the Cowboys expect Bryant to return to his dominant form when he averaged 13 touchdown receptions from 2012 to 2014 and was arguably the NFL's most physically imposing WR.
"He's done an outstanding job and been committed to being around, and I think that's only getting better," Jones said. "That's what we need of him, is to get well and do his rehab and then get in great shape. I think one of the tough things about last year for Dez, he plays with such energy.
"With the contract dispute, if you will, he wasn't around, which is business, and consequently he probably wasn't in his best shape going into the season. And then you start to add the injuries when players aren't in shape, and they continued on through training camp and then on into the season, and we ended up not having him much last year, so if he can get his rehab done and get himself in top condition, then I think we'll see the same Dez that we saw two years ago."
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby
