Dez Is Superman, But Jerry Preaches Cowboys Caution
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IRVING (105.3 THE FAN) - Dez Bryant tells me that he wants to return from his foot surgery in four weeks and Jerry Jones acknowledges the Dallas receiving star is like "Superman.''
But the Cowboys owner also preached patience in his visit with "Shan & RJ'' on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday.
"It takes a bone six weeks to fully recover," Jones said. "We've had players with foot injuries that did not wait until the six weeks period of time before they were functional and before they were able to play.
"He'll be able to be conditioning, things of that nature, as early as two to three weeks into his rehab. The facts are it's just that, no one knows. It has to do with the individual. The repair went well, so Dez is of course Superman when it comes to being physical, but on the other hand, we want it to repair well."
Dez desires a four-week wait. The Cowboys are saying six weeks (optimistically), and Jones' comments above reflect that thinking. There is a medical history regarding the repair of the fifth metatarsal (the bone that extends along the outside of the foot to the pinkie toe) that suggests an even longer wait, and a serious danger of coming back too soon.
But each surgery, each foot, each patient, is different. In Bryant's case, it's a matter of the insertion of a screw. In the oft-cited case of basketball star Kevin Durant and his surgery, the process involved a bone graft and a too-soon return.
"Don't listen to all the craziness,'' Dez tweeted in regard to rampant speculation and uninformed guessing.
The Cowboys are in search of a receiver who can add depth; names like Hakeem Nicks, Nick Toon and Austin Pettis are surfacing, as are the names of two guys Dallas had in camp this summer, A.J. Jenkins and Clyde Gates. But "Dez' replacement''? This won't work that way. Terrance Williams and Devin Street will be asked to do more in their roles. Tight end Gavin Escobar and running back Lance Dunbar will, too.
"I'm just disappointed," Jones said of the Dez injury, sustained in Dallas' 27-26 win over the Giants in Sunday's season-opener. "But the thing is, I've been in football since I was 5 years old, so I've always known that you never get the hand to play with that you got on paper and you're always having to make adjustments. That's what this is."
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