Section 215
Fansided

Report: Ray Rice-Esque Video of Dez Bryant to be Released Today

By Tim Kelly

facebooktwitterreddit

File this one under the ‘things that could inadvertently help the Eagles win the NFC East in 2015’ category. Though details are scarce, a report suggests that a rumored video of Dez Bryant doing something that has been compared to the infamous video of Ray Rice knocking out his then Fiancee Janay Palmer, will be released today.

Via Terez Owens

"The incriminating video of Dallas Cowboys superstar receiver Dez Bryant doing something supposedly Ray Rice worthy is being released today or tomorrow. According to our source, the Cowboys haven’t done a huge deal with Dez because of concern over the video. Unfortunately Bryant’s team won’t be able to stop the tape from getting out to the public. Of course Cowboys COO Stephen Jones denies knowledge of such a video. This is going to be a game changer for the Cowboys future."

Bryant, an impending free-agent, is widely expected to receive the franchise-tag by the Cowboys if they can not agree to a new deal prior to the March 2nd deadline to use the franchise tag. From the sounds of things, this video of Dez Bryant may change the plans of both Bryant and the Cowboys.

"We’re being told the Cowboys have warned Dez the tape is going to be released, and from someone who has seen it, that it’s five times worse than the Ray Rice Video. His football career is in jeopardy according to our source."

Of course, Terez Owens isn’t ESPN. It isn’t even TMZ. But there doesn’t appear to be any doubt that this reported video exists. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said this of the video in a Dallas Radio spot last week.

Via The Big Lead

"On Friday, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio went on 105.3 The Fan to discuss “a video of Dez Bryant.” In this alleged “video,” Dez Bryant does something “bad.” Per Florio, “all of the major insiders” have known about this video for months, but, for now, it remains out of the public eye."

I have to say, I’m not rooting for this video to come out, or even be real. Bryant was arrested in 2012 after a physical altercation with his mother, which makes some wonder what exactly this video could entail. But excuse me if I don’t want this off-season to be dominated by coverage of one of the league’s premier players career being derailed by a disturbing video of him doing whatever the reported video would show. More importantly, I don’t want to spend time analyzing a video of someone being assaulted, which is what one would assume this video is if it is being compared to the Rice video.

Certainly if this video does surface and proves to be as bad as it is being reported, Bryant will face a lengthy suspension, and may not even return to the Cowboys. As I wrote at the beginning of this article, that would be beneficial to the Eagles moving forward, but that doesn’t seem worth it if the cost is watching a human be injured.

Update 12:30 PM ET– Adam Schefter joined the Carmen and Jurko show on ESPN 1000 in Chicago, and was asked about the rumored Dez Bryant video. His response included what seemed like at least a five Mississippi count pause, and him calling it ‘a very interesting question’. Schefter was very hesitant to react any further when pressed on the issue, saying he’s been working on the issue since September and has not seen the video, but his pauses and lack of denial of the video seemed to lead you to think that Schefter knows that the reported video exists and would be devastating to the career of Bryant if released.

If you want to listen for yourself–Schefter claims to know what would be on the reported video, so it’s worth listening–fast-forward to the 46 minute mark.

Update 12:57 PM ET–Though no video has surfaced and it is possible one never does, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said this of the rumored incident on NBCSN today. It feels hard to believe there isn’t some sort of story if Florio was willing to discuss the rumored setting where this supposedly took place, and numerous league insiders are doing anything but shutting down these rumors.

More from Section 215

Home/Philadelphia Eagles