Dez Bryant was in the locker room Saturday to meet the rookies.
He even played catch on the side during their minicamp.
Though he hasn’t been cleared for the Dallas Cowboys’ off-season program, Bryant is looking more and more like the Dez of old, Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
“He’s done a really good job with his rehab, and he’s made progress,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said.
“Like with all those guys, it’s a day-by-day, week-by-week thing. But he’s had no setbacks, and he really continues to get better and better.”
Cowboys receivers coach Derek Dooley anticipates Bryant being a full participant by June 1. The team’s minicamp is June 16-18.
Bryant played only nine games last season, none completely healthy. He ended the season on injured reserve and required more foot and ankle surgery in the off-season.
“The biggest thing with him is conditioning,” Dooley said. “It doesn’t matter how good you might be, if you’re not in physical condition to run routes and to get people off you, it’s going to be hard. So we almost, with Dez, have got to go back to square one, go back to the fundamentals.
“It’s almost as if he’s had a year off. Develop our skill sets as a wideout, but at the same time, get back into a level of conditioning to allow yourself to apply those skills 65, 70 snaps in a game.
“That’s not going to happen in nine OTAs. It’s going to be him really pushing himself this summer without us around and then having a great training camp.
“I feel like if we can get through those three phases, he’ll be ready to go.”
He even played catch on the side during their minicamp.
Though he hasn’t been cleared for the Dallas Cowboys’ off-season program, Bryant is looking more and more like the Dez of old, Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
“He’s done a really good job with his rehab, and he’s made progress,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said.
“Like with all those guys, it’s a day-by-day, week-by-week thing. But he’s had no setbacks, and he really continues to get better and better.”
Cowboys receivers coach Derek Dooley anticipates Bryant being a full participant by June 1. The team’s minicamp is June 16-18.
Bryant played only nine games last season, none completely healthy. He ended the season on injured reserve and required more foot and ankle surgery in the off-season.
“The biggest thing with him is conditioning,” Dooley said. “It doesn’t matter how good you might be, if you’re not in physical condition to run routes and to get people off you, it’s going to be hard. So we almost, with Dez, have got to go back to square one, go back to the fundamentals.
“It’s almost as if he’s had a year off. Develop our skill sets as a wideout, but at the same time, get back into a level of conditioning to allow yourself to apply those skills 65, 70 snaps in a game.
“That’s not going to happen in nine OTAs. It’s going to be him really pushing himself this summer without us around and then having a great training camp.
“I feel like if we can get through those three phases, he’ll be ready to go.”
