Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys fine Dez Bryant for missing MRI and team meetings

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Dez Bryant’s knee injury from Week 3 took longer to officially diagnose than expected, and now we know why.

During the Dallas Cowboys’ victory over the Chicago Bears last Sunday night, wide receiver Dez Bryant suffered a right knee injury but quickly returned. His numbers for the game weren’t good, as he clearly looked limited, with three catches (on four targets) for 40 yards, but Bryant did connect with quarterback Dak Prescott on a touchdown for the first time.

Bryant was expected to have an MRI on his knee on Monday, then Tuesday. Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones acknowledged Bryant had not yet had an MRI during a radio appearance Tuesday, which conveyed a lack of concern and little doubt about Bryant’s status for Week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers.

On Wednesday though, Cowboys’ head coach Jason Garrett told Bay Area reporters that Bryant has a hairline fracture in his right knee. Dallas’ No. 1 wide receiver did not practice on Wednesday, but now there’s an explanation for the delay in Bryant’s diagnosis.

According the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys have fined Bryant for missing an MRI and team meetings on Tuesday. The amount of the fine was not disclosed, and that seems to be the end of that part of the story. The Morning News also reported Bryant’s injury as a “hairline fracture of the tibial plateau on his right knee.”

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With the diagnosis of a fracture in his knee, Bryant has to be considered doubtful to play on Sunday against the 49ers. It may come down to pain tolerance and risk of further injury beyond that, but Bryant seems likely to miss multiple games.

The Cowboys have been down the Bryant coming back from an injury too soon road before, with a Week 1 foot injury in 2015 that lingered all season and limited him to nine games. So any doubt about Bryant’s status this time around will surely lead to caution being exercised, even if Jones willingly offers optimism until further notice.