Dez Bryant rehabbing injured ankle with Cowboys staff

By Jon Machota
FOXSportsSouthwest.com Special Contributor
March 2, 2011

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant tweeted on Tuesday that he was able to take part in some light jogging.

"Workouts was great... jogged a little and got a good upper body lift," he wrote.

That was just the latest update in the rehabilitation process for the standout receiver.

During Bryant's 2010 rookie season, he recorded 45 receptions for 561 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games. His season was ended on Dec. 5 in Indianapolis after suffering a fractured right ankle. He had surgery the following day, and recently began rehab.

If the NFLPA and the league can't finalize a new collective bargaining agreement by Thursday and a lockout occurs, Bryant will travel to New Orleans to train.

On Wednesday he tweeted: "Going down to New Orleans to train next week if we have this lock out."

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett spoke about Bryant's rehab last Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

"Dez has made progress," Garrett told The Dallas Morning News. "He's going through his rehab, and it's been a positive experience for him. We have great people at the Cowboys who take him through that stuff and he's getting better."

When Bryant is ready to return to action, he will have to adapt to a new wide receivers coach. Jimmy Robinson takes over as Bryant's position coach after spending the last five seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

One of Robinson's goals with the Cowboys is to help the young receiver reach his potential.

"He's a guy who has all the tools," Robinson said on Feb. 17 when he was introduced to the local media. "It's the coach's job to help him to grow at the position in the offense we run. I think he's going to do just fine.

"A lot is expected of him. I think he knows that. Hey, we'll take it one day at a time, and I'm quite sure he will become what we all expect him to be."

Garrett added last Thursday: "Dez loves to play football. He's got great passion for the game and great enthusiasm for the game. That's really one of the things we love about him. We're going to continue to try and give him direction as a coaching staff, and Jimmy [Robinson] will be a big part of that."