Wide receiver Dez Bryant wants to suit up for the New York Giants.
Bryant, who released by the division rival Dallas Cowboys last Friday after eight seasons, extolled the virtues of playing for the Giants in an interview with 247Sports.com.
“The Giants got a helluva defense,” Bryant said. “They’re going to pay OBJ (Odell Beckham Jr.), so coming back. Playing with him, Sterling (Shepard) … the tight end (Evan Engram), (Eli) Manning? Crazy…that’d be crazy. You get to wear your nice winter coats on the streets of New York there.”
Bryant also mentioned the possibility of the Giants using the No. 2 overall pick in next week’s NFL Draft on Penn State running back Saquon Barkley. He feels adding Barkley to the mix would strengthen the Giants’ running game and provide balance to an offense ranked 21st in 2017.
Bryant is the Cowboys’ all-time leader in receiving touchdowns with 73 and is fourth in franchise history with 7,459 receiving yards. He had 69 receptions for 838 yards and six touchdowns in 2017. Bryant’s number of receptions and receiving yards last season surpassed every Giants player and his number of touchdowns were equal to Engram’s, who led the team.
Speculation about Bryant potentially signing with the Giants increased Thursday after the team released wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Marshall, who said there was “no room” for Bryant earlier in the week on a deleted Instagram post, played in only five games after suffering a season-ending ankle injury. He was released after a failed physical according to general manager Dave Gettleman.
The Giants freed up more than $5 million in cap space with Marshall’s release. Gettleman was asked about the level of interest acquiring Bryant during a pre-NFL Draft press conference.
“I have interest in everybody,” Gettleman said. “We’ll do our film work and you never know.”
Beckham would welcome Bryant into the fold if the Giants bring him in.
“He’s like a brother to me,” Beckham said in a 2016 interview. “We’re very similar in a lot of ways. We’ve had a closer bond since last season going into the offseason. So, to be able to get out there…we thank God all the time for being able to play the game that we love…and to love it so much, and the opportunities that we have in front of us.”
Even cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who had some memorable jousting with Bryant on the field and in the press, took to Twitter to recruit his rival.
https://twitter.com/JjenkzLockdown/status/984974636688592896
– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL and the New York Giants. Please like and follow on Facebook and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.
