After sitting out the entire 2021 NFL season, not only is Dez Bryant ready to make a return to football, but it seems he already knows exactly which team he he'd like to play for this year.
During a recent interview with TMZ, the former Cowboys receiver revealed that if he could play for anyone in 2022, it would be the Arizona Cardinals.
"Kyler, the coach -- I love the swagger over there," Bryant said. "I just love the guys, especially DeAndre Hopkins -- that's my boy. We real close."
The interview took place before Hopkins' suspension was announced on Monday. That being said, the suspension is something that could potentially open the door for the Cardinals to at least give Bryant a call. That's not to say that Arizona is going to go out and sign Bryant, but the Cardinals definitely do need to figure something out with Hopkins now set to miss the first six games of the 2022 season.
After sitting out of football for a year, there's no way the 33-year-old Bryant could replace Hopkins, but he might be able to help the Cardinals in at least one spot. Not having Hopkins on the field is going to hurt the Cards' in the red zone, which is actually the one place where Bryant stills seems to thrive. During his 2020 season with the Ravens, Bryant caught just two passes in the red zone, but they both went for touchdowns. Before 2020, Bryant hadn't played since 2017 due to injuries, and in that season, five of his six touchdown catches came in the red zone.
Bryant is no longer anywhere near his prime, but if he can convince the Cardinals that he can help them, even it's just in the red zone, then they might consider signing him.
On the other hand, the Cards don't necessarily need to call Bryant and that's because they still have plenty of receivers on the roster even with Hopkins out for the first six weeks. Not only did they just trade for Marquis Brown, but they also have A.J. Green, Rondale Moore and Andy Isabella. Not to mention, they also just drafted a tight end (Trey McBride) to go along with the talented tight end (Zach Ertz) that they already had on the roster.
As for Bryant, he must really want to play for the Cardinals because this is the second straight year that he's made it clear that he's be interested in signing with them.
