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NFL notebook: Cowboys cut ties with WR Bryant

[April 14, 2018] The Dallas Cowboys released wide receiver Dez Bryant after a meeting with team owner Jerry Jones on Friday, the team announced. Bryant was due $12.5 million in salary in 2018 and was set to count $16.5 million against the Cowboys' cap.

"This was not an easy decision. It was made based upon doing what we believe is in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys," a statement from Jones read, in part.

Bryant, who reportedly was not offered the long-rumored pay cut many expected he would be asked to take, is not expected to be designated a post-June 1 release. He becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Revenge will apparently be a factor in where Bryant pops up next: According to Cowboys columnist Mickey Spagnola, Bryant said "I'll see guys twice this year" as he exited the meeting, hinting he might already have plans to sign with a division rival.

--After postponing a workout with Colin Kaepernick this week, the Seattle Seahawks have signed Stephen Morris as a potential backup to starting quarterback Russell Wilson.

While Morris has never taken a regular-season NFL snap, he has logged time with the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2014.

The move comes on the heels of news that Seattle had planned a workout with Kaepernick, but had scuttled it after the controversial quarterback had been unwilling to lay out a plan for his future. The Seahawks, who remain thin at quarterback, haven't ruled out working out Kaepernick at a later time.

--Sebastian Janikowski signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks.

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The Raiders released the 40-year-old Janikowski in February, ending an 18-year tenure with the team that began when Oakland drafted him 17th overall in the 2000 draft. The Polish lefty made 80.4 percent of his field-goal attempts and 98.9 percent of extra-point attempts during his 17 seasons with the Raiders. He made 83.7 percent of his kicks over the last eight seasons, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2011.

The Seahawks are looking for a replacement for Blair Walsh, who was not re-signed and remains a free agent after he made 21 of 29 field-goal attempts (72.4 percent) in 2017.

--Free-agent quarterback Mark Sanchez was suspended for the first four games of the 2018 season for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy, the league announced.

Sanchez confirmed he tested positive for a banned substance and released a statement saying he suspects supplement contamination. The 31-year-old was the No. 3 quarterback for the Chicago Bears last season and didn't throw a pass.

"I was blindsided by the news and I want to say unequivocally that I never cheated or attempted to gain a competitive advantage by using a banned performance enhancing substance," Sanchez wrote. "During the past nine years as an NFL player I have been subjected to 73 drug tests -- an average of over eight tests per season -- and all but one have been clean."

--Field Level Media

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