Cowboys putting Dez Bryant on injured reserve

He claimed the decision to close the book on Bryant’s season has nothing to do with the Cowboys being out of the playoff hunt.

Just a couple days after Jason Garrett declared that Dez Bryant would not be ruled out for Sunday’s season finale against the Redskins, well, he’s been ruled out.

Garrett said the issue with Bryant’s foot remains the fifth metatarsal. At the time of the surgery, Bryant had a bone graft to help the healing process, which is standard in how the team deals with foot surgeries. When the talented receiver did make his return, he never quite looked or player like his old self.

Bryant will have a career low in receptions, yards and touchdowns and caught just 19 passes for 237 yards with two touchdowns in the last six games. He came down awkwardly on an 18-yard TD catch against the Philadelphia Eagles, adding an ankle injury to his foot ailment.

In all, Dez Bryant played in nine games in the 2015 season after breaking his right foot in the season opener against the New York Giants.

In 2015, Bryant did not attend any of the offseason conditioning for the Cowboys, OTAs, or minicamp due to a contract dispute. He missed half of the practices during camp and the four preseason games.

The Cowboys believe that the lack of early work and conditioning really affected Bryant’s ability to play at his normal level.