Dallas Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones commented on the release of receiver Dez Bryant for the first time Tuesday.
Jones, speaking on 105.3 The Fan, said moving on from the team's all-time leader in touchdown receptions was in the best interest of Bryant and the Cowboys.
"I think it's always difficult because Dez was an amazing player for us," Jones said. "He helped us win a lot of football games. At the same time, these things happen in our business. ... We just felt like based on everything, that that was in the best interest for us was to give Dez the opportunity to kinda get a fresh start and for us to move on to the next chapter."
Jones defended the team's decision to wait so long to make the decision. He again said it was in everybody's best interest and believes Bryant will get opportunities to continue his career.
Jones, considered one of the key figures behind the decision from the beginning, took issue with Bryant blaming the captains and so called "Garrett Guys" with playing a role in his release. He called it normal sour grapes.
"I don't understand that comment," Jones said. "You see those things when it's difficult for a player to take the next step."
Jones said the team certainly did their due diligence and consulted a lot of people as they should "when you get read to make a move of this statue". But he said any notion of the locker room being divided because some guys are in the corner of coach Jason Garrett and some aren't is false.
