Cowboys begin task of replacing Bryant, acquire WR from Raiders
The Dallas Cowboys made their first move to fill the void left by Dez Bryant's absence on Tuesday, trading for Oakland Raiders wide receiver Brice Butler.
The Cowboys announced the move on their official website Tuesday night.
The move comes as little surprise in that Dallas had been expected to add another receiver since Bryant suffered a broken foot in Sunday night's season-opening win over the New York Giants. Bryant underwent surgery on Monday and is expected to miss anywhere from four to six weeks as he recovers.
Owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday on his radio show that the team will not rush Bryant, who led the NFL with 16 touchdown catches last season, in an effort to get him on the field as quickly as it can; if the bone takes six weeks to heal fully, it sounds like Jones is willing to wait.
"We've had players with foot injuries that did not wait until the six weeks period of time before they were functional and before they were able to play," Jones said. "The repair went well, so Dez is of course Superman when it comes to being physical. But, on the other hand, we want it to repair well."
To acquire Butler, the Cowboys essentially swapped 2016 draft picks. If Butler is on the 53-man roster in Dallas for six or more weeks, the Cowboys will exchange their fifth-round draft pick for the Raiders' sixth-round pick.
The Raiders selected Butler with the No. 209 overall selection in the 2013 NFL Draft. Butler started his collegiate career at USC in promising fashion by compiling 292 yards receiving on 20 catches as a true freshman. After two forgettable seasons at USC, he transferred to San Diego State, where he finished with 347 yards receiving and four touchdowns on 24 catches during the 2012 season.
For a peek into his athleticism, check out this play from Raiders camp:
The move once again gives the Cowboys five healthy receivers, as Butler will join Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Devin Street and Lucky Whitehead on the active roster. The Cowboys also have receivers Vince Mayle and Rodney Smith on the practice squad.
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett told the media on Monday that, if the team were to add a receiver from outside the team facility, he was confident the offense would be easy to pick up.
"We do believe we have a player-friendly system where players can learn quickly," Garrett said. "That's a big part of the NFL these days is you want to be able to have a guy, a young player, maybe a guy you drafted, maybe a guy you signed as a college free agent or a veteran player you're bringing in who has no history with you, you want them to be able to come in and learn and learn quickly."
Butler, listed by the Cowboys at 6 feet 3 and 215 pounds, at least can match up with the size lost when Bryant (6-2, 224 pounds) went down. He was inactive for the Raiders' season-opening, 33-13 loss to Cincinnati, but did have 30 catches for 383 yards and two touchdowns in 25 games over two seasons with Oakland.
The Cowboys have actually faced Butler before. In the 2013 preseason, as a rookie, he recorded two catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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