Prescott laments Bryant's release, says he wasn't part of decision
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott doesn't seem enthused about having to find a new favorite target for the upcoming season.
After three-time Pro Bowler Dez Bryant was released Friday, Prescott voiced his frustrations about the move Saturday.
"It's sad news. That's a brother to me," Prescott said to ESPN's Todd Archer. "Put the football stuff behind you and what he meant to me as a person, what he meant to me as a brother, it's tough to see him go. It shows you it's a business. All it does is motivate me and puts all this in perspective. Just got to go to work."
Bryant posted three consecutive 1,000-yard plus seasons from 2012-14, establishing himself as one of the league's best red-zone threats during that span. The veteran wide receiver had spent his entire career with the Cowboys after being selected in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
Prescott had built a strong rapport with Bryant since his rookie season in 2016, and it's clear that the Cowboys will need to find another playmaker to assuage their quarterback's concerns.
"He was a great player," Prescott said. "He did a lot of great things for us, obviously. I mean he was a guy in man-to-man (coverage) you go to. So I mean at this point we've got to figure that out with the guys we got, and I'm sure we're going to go after guys in the draft and free agency, who knows? All I can do is continue to get better at my job."
Bryant suggested that players who act as the Cowboys' captains played a role in his release, but Prescott - who was a captain along with the likes of Jason Witten and Sean Lee in 2017 - said the decision was way above his pay grade.
"As much you want to say yeah I want a say so … those guys get paid a lot more than me," Prescott said, according to the Star-Telegram's Clarence E. Hill. "That is what those guys are there to do. That is not my decision.
"I am sure (Bryant) is hearing stuff. I am sure he is getting it from a lot of different ways. So I am not going to finger point at anybody. I'm not going to get upset about who he is pointing at or who he thinks did this. As I said, it's a business and that's part of it."