Dallas Cowboys: Is Dez Bryant The New Joey Galloway?

As the Dallas Cowboys have placed the franchise tag on all-world wide receiver Dez Bryant, I can’t help but wonder if this could possibly be like being on the other side of the mirror.

Remember the snagging of Joey Galloway from the Seattle Seahawks during the 2000 offseason?

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Granted, this was not a move that panned out well for the Cowboys, but this had next to nothing to do with Galloway as a receiver or player. It had everything to do with bad circumstances and timing.

Galloway was essentially a disgruntled veteran, much like Bryant is right now, over a contract negotiation. In fact, Galloway was slapped with the franchise tag after having held out eight games during the 1999 regular season. As an unrestricted free agent the following year, Seattle pulled the same trick Dallas has with Bryant, guaranteeing a lot of money in order to keep his rights for just a year.

As Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin’s career suddenly ended on the old, ragged runway for a field at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia in ’99, owner and general manger Jerry Jones was literally desperate to find a valid number-one passing target for Troy Aikman.

Jones traded two first round draft choices (2000-01) to secure Galloway while the Seahawks washed their hands of the problem and started building a team that would reach the Super Bowl six seasons later.

Could – or should the Cowboys do the very same thing with Bryant if the opportunity is there?

For example, what if the Cleveland Browns decided to make a push for Bryant. It’s not like receiver Josh Gordon is seeming to be up to the challenge of being a franchise pass-catcher for the “Dog Pound.”

Remembering that the Browns have two first round selections, what if they opted to trade even the lowest of those two (19th pick) to Dallas for the rights to Bryant?

Now, imagine that the Cowboys have the 19th and 27th selections in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Does this really sound so bad?

Sure, there would be a huge void at wide receiver, but last season’s Super Bowl contestants more than proved that you can certainly succeed in the NFL without a top-flight diva wideout, right? In fact, Seattle and the New England Patriots featured wide receivers that might not even start on most other NFL rosters.

So yes, another receiver could be located to help fill the void left by Bryant’s hypothetical departure. Even free agency could end up being an actual tool in trying to bolster an offense that’s just taken a hit, even if that’s putting it mildly.

Plus, like the Seahawks over a decade ago, the Cowboys could wash their hands of the stressful and expensive situation that is Dez Bryant.

Am I trying to run off Bryant from Dallas?

Not exactly, but ask yourself this question, and do so honestly:

Would you rather the Cowboys win the Super Bowl or sign Bryant to a six-year extension that includes $55 million in guaranteed money?

No, you can’t have both in this case.

Assuming the answer is the former portion of that scenario, you have to consider the possibility of acquiring multiple first-round draft choices over the next couple of drafts as an exciting possibility.

What if Dallas was selecting defensive end Alvin Dupree of University of Kentucky with it’s first selection and then grabbing up Malcom Brown, defensive tackle out of University of Texas?

Defensive rebuild is looking pretty good in this scenario, right?

Now, you can mix up different ideas all day long inside this discussion and come up with some pretty intriguing ideas, all of which should represent young, blue-chip prospects that would almost certainly span the remainder of quarterback Tony Romo‘s career.

If not the Browns, than perhaps another team that doesn’t figure to be in position to get one of the top three wide receiver prospects available might want to strike a deal for Bryant, likely the best wide receiver in the NFL.

This is just a possibility, of course. It might even be a complete fantasy given that Bryant might not be as attractive to the rest of the NFL as it might seem based on his career stats. But if you imagine this idea like a mini-Herschel Walker trade, the dividends could be incalculable for a team that’s obviously much closer to a Super Bowl berth than the 1989 Dallas Cowboys were.

Being on the other side of the Galloway trade was one of the worst moves ever by Jones.

Being on the other side of a potential franchise tag sacrifice could be exactly what the Cowboys need.

Next: Cowboys Granted More Time To Secure Bryant

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