The last few years have been a bit of a roller coaster for Dez Bryant’s NFL career. He shone with the Dallas Cowboys from 2010-17, earning Pro Bowl nods in 2013, 2014 and 2016 and a first-team All-Pro selection in 2014, but was cut after the 2017 season. 2018 saw him sign with the New Orleans Saints halfway through the year, but he tore his Achilles tendon in practice two days after joining the team, and missed the rest of the season and all of 2019. Then, after further twists this year, Bryant recorded his first touchdown since December 10, 2017 with an 11-yard catch Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars:
THROW UP THE X! @DezBryant TOUCHDOWN!
Tune in on CBS pic.twitter.com/dNfW19EKEB
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 20, 2020
The road here was a long one for the 32-year-old Bryant, as in addition to the twists mentioned above, 2020 wasn’t easy for him either. The Ravens brought him in on their practice squad in late October, and he played in his first game since 2017 on November 21. But two weeks later, he tested positive for COVID-19 right before Baltimore’s clash with the Cowboys and even initially tweeted that he was going to not play the rest of the year:
Yea I’m going to go ahead and call it a quit for the rest of the season… I can’t deal with this
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) December 9, 2020
I’m about to drink some wine and cope….
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) December 9, 2020
After that, though, Bryant decided to come back:
Yea I’m coming back… I’m being smart https://t.co/9RjQcahTJs
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) December 9, 2020
Bryant missed last week’s game, but played Sunday, and came up with that touchdown. On the day, he had four catches on five targets for 28 yards and a touchdown. We’ll see where he goes from here.
[NFL.com; photo from Tommy Gilligan/USA Today Sports]
