Should the Minnesota Vikings consider signing Dez Bryant?

Cons of signing Dez Bryant

Health

Dez Bryant could already be on an NFL team this season if not for suffering a torn Achilles last year. Instead, Bryant had to spend the last handful of months rehabbing his injury and realizing that his body isn’t getting any younger.

Due to the type of injury he suffered, the 31-year-old receiver might have lost some of the explosiveness that he was able to use to his advantage during his time with the Cowboys. Bryant is also at the age where he’s more susceptible to missing time with another injury since his body probably isn’t able to recover as quickly as it used to.

Cost

Of all the teams in the NFL, the Vikings are at the very bottom of the list when it comes to cap space. Minnesota barely has enough money to buy milk and eggs. So if the Vikings want to sign Bryant, they will likely have to do some pretty serious salary cap gymnastics.

Last year, he signed a deal with the New Orleans Saints worth $1.275 million. Bryant will likely want something close to that wherever he lands this season and unfortunately, Minnesota can’t really afford to even pay him that amount of money.

The Vikings’ best bet to sign the former All-Pro receiver would be to hope that he accepts the veterans minimum and the chances of that happening don’t seem very high.

Reliability

Even though Bryant was voted to multiple Pro Bowls and selected as a First-Team All-Pro during his career with Dallas, it’s been a while since he produced at a high level.

During his final three seasons with the Cowboys, he failed to surpass 70 catches and 850 receiving yards each year. In addition to these underwhelming numbers, his catch percentage was below 53 percent in each of these seasons as well.

If Adam Thielen’s hamstring keeps him out for an extended amount of time, can Minnesota rely on Bryant to make up for his lost production?