Cowboys Rumors: Dallas Leaning Towards Franchise Tagging Dez Bryant

The Dallas Cowboys have said that re-signing star wide receiver Dez Bryant is their top offseason priority, and it appears that they're leaning towards giving him the franchise tag to keep him on the roster while they work out a long-term deal.

“Right now all things being equal, it’s leaning more Dez with the franchise than it is not,” executive vice president Stephen Jones told The Dallas Morning News. “But that doesn’t mean it will stay that way. We don’t ever want to give up on a long-term deal. It’s something we worked on all of last year and it kind of cooled off once we got into the season."

The franchise tag for a wide receiver is expected to be around $13 million. Doing this would give Dallas time to reach a deal with All-Pro running back DeMarco Murray, the leading rusher in the NFL last season, who is also set to become a free agent this offseason.

“I told a lot of our guys, ‘Just because you go to free agency doesn’t mean you’re not coming back,'" Jones said. "… So just because we don’t get a deal done by when the gun goes off (at the start of the league year), it doesn’t mean we’re not keeping them."

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