Dez Bryant a Possible Ravens Gameday Addition

One of the more interesting aspects of the 2020 NFL season has been the expanded options teams have with their practice squads.

Those units were increased to a maximum of 16 players with a limited number of them being veterans who would not be eligible for the practice squad in other years. Coaches also have the opportunity to use practice squad players as part of the gameday roster, if they so desire.

Those rules have created the possibility that the Tennessee Titans will have to deal with a big-name receiver Sunday when they face the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Ravens coach Joh Harbaugh said Friday “it’s possible” that Dez Bryant will be in uniform for that game.

A first-round pick (24th overall) by the Dallas Cowboys in 2010, Bryant is a three-time Pro Bowler who is attempting to restart his career after two years out of action. He has been on Baltimore’s practice squad since Oct. 27 and appeared in one game – he played two snaps and was not targeted on Nov. 8 against Indianapolis.

“We’ll just see going forward how it plays out,” Harbaugh said, via RavenCountry. “It’s really not something that I think we need to advertise. We’ll just see where it goes.”

Bryant played against the Titans twice during his eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. In those contests he caught 13 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown.

In the most recent (Sept. 14, 2014), he had 10 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown. It is one of four games in his career in which he finished with 10 or more catches.

Bryant has not played a regular-season game since 2017. The Cowboys cut him early the next offseason. The New Orleans Saints signed him in November 2018 but two days later he sustained a season-ending Achilles tendon tear. He was unsigned for all of 2019.

“Dez is doing a good job," Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. "He’s really getting caught up, [and] he’s working hard at practice [and] in meetings. It’s good to have him aboard. We’ll just keep working, and we’ll see where that leads moving forward. I don’t think there’s any real timeline right now, but I do think that if Dez keeps progressing, he will definitely become a factor in what we do.”