Dez Bryant had bone graft; Dallas Cowboys hopeful on early return

ByABC News
September 20, 2015, 10:32 AM

— -- PHILADELPHIA -- Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant had a standard bone graft as part of his surgery to repair his broken foot, sources told ESPN, and the team is hopeful that he can return to the lineup by Oct. 25.

Bryant suffered a Jones' fracture in his fifth metatarsal, the bone running along the outside of his right foot, and had surgery Sept. 14. The bone graft is standard operating procedure for the Cowboys on this type of surgery, sources told ESPN. 

The Cowboys have put an optimistic 4-6 week timeline on Bryant's return, and the Cowboys opted against putting Bryant on the IR/designated to return list. Had he been put on the short-term IR, Bryant would have had to miss eight games and it would have opened up a roster spot.

The Cowboys hope he'll be ready to face the  New York Giants -- after Dallas' bye week on Oct. 25, sources told ESPN.

"I think you're always trying to assess how long a player is going to be out and the value of that guy," coach Jason Garrett said Friday. "In Dez's case, we want to give him every opportunity to be back as soon as he can. We're optimistic that he can be back soon, and obviously he's an impact player for us."

DeMarcus Lawrence had a similar surgery that included a bone graft last year and was placed on the injured reserve/designated to return list that cost him the first eight games of the season. Lawrence suffered the injury July 30, 2014 and played in his first game Nov. 2.

ESPN NFL Insiders Ed Werder and Chris Mortensen and ESPN Staff Writer Todd Archer contributed to this report.