Released WR Dez Bryant shouldn’t draw interest from Minnesota Vikings

Even though he was released by the Dallas Cowboys, the Minnesota Vikings shouldn’t be seriously looking into signing wide receiver Dez Brant.

The Minnesota Vikings have already made some big moves in free agency. They have locked down quarterback Kirk Cousins for 3 years, brought in defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson on a 1 year deal, and signed Kendall Wright, the leading receiver from the Bears last year.

Despite these transactions, the Vikings still have money left in free agency. At a time when other teams have made their splashes and spent their salary cap, Minnesota is still open to checking out players released later in the offseason.

Today, it was announced on NFL.com that the Dallas Cowboys have released veteran NFL wide receiver Dez Bryant. It isn’t very often that a player with the resume of Bryant becomes available without having to give up compensation to acquire him, but that doesn’t mean the Vikings should jump at the opportunity to do so.

Minnesota Vikings

The release of any big name player typically gets a buzz going within the fan base. Just a simple search on Twitter for “Dez Bryant Vikings” brings up a TON of folks trying to persuade the wide receiver to come to Minnesota.

But Minnesota shouldn’t be picking up the telephone to call the agent of a pass catcher who caught 73 touchdowns in 99 games started and 113 total games played.

Sure, the Vikings could spend the remainder of their salary cap to try to entice Bryant into wearing purple and gold, but there are some great reasons as to why this shouldn’t happen.

First of all, Bryant would be fighting for reps in Minnesota. While Bryant would be a boost to the depth and talent of the receiving corps, his talents would likely be better used elsewhere. There will already be a struggle to get playing time for with a majority of the time going to Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. Then, Kendall Wright and Laquon Treadwell will be working to get on the field.

Plus, Minnesota has several free agents they will need to retain using the salary cap they have left. Stefon Diggs, Danielle Hunter, Anthony Barr, Sheldon Richardson and Eric Kendricks will all likely be targets the Vikings will want to retain, and the $13,360,559 the team has in cap space after draft pick signing with the top 51 according to Spotrac will come in handy doing that.

Also, Dez might have a bit of an agenda: to get a little revenge on the team that dumped him. And sadly, the Vikings don’t have the Cowboys on their schedule and are unlikely to meet them in the postseason.

Next: 4 tight ends the Vikings could draft

Bringing Dez Bryant to the Minnesota Vikings would be a great move in your Madden NFL franchise, but isn’t realistic or practical for a team hoping to have long-term success in a highly competitive league without losing talent already on their roster. For that reason, the team should pass on the star wide receiver.