There was apparently a very real possibility the Dallas Cowboys wouldn't have now appears that Bryant has signed with the Cowboys.

Even still, what would this Cowboys team look like without Dez Bryant?

In 2014, Dallas was the third-most run-heavy team in the league, at 1.00 drop backs per rushing attempt. The Cowboys, between 42 percent of their plays in 11 personnel (three receivers, one running back and one tight end) and, overall, Beasley was on the field for 41 percent of the offensive snaps.

Beasley was targeted 49 times, but was able to bring in a majority of those targets for receptions. With a catch rate of 75.5 percent, only four receivers with at least 30 targets -- Marlon Brown, Brandin Cooks, Wes Welker and Kenny Stills -- caught a higher percentage of targets than Beasley. Of that group, only Brown and Stills had a higher Success Rate, the number of plays positively impacting NEP.

It would certainly be easy to see Beasley take on a larger role in the offense. Those high percentage passes would allow Tony Romo to deliver the ball quickly to decrease pressure, something he thrived on in 2014.

The Case for the Tight Ends

Jason Witten has narratively been old and declining for the past few seasons. His actual actions on the field have proven that to be less true.

Last season, Witten was the second-most targeted player on the team with 90 passes thrown his way. Among tight ends with at least 30 targets, he finished sixth in Reception NEP per target. While some of that efficiency did come being slightly less involved -- a 21 target decline from 2013 could have helped his increases in Reception NEP per target, catch rate and Success Rate -- Dallas could easily increase his role again and keep him among the top tight ends in the league.

Backup tight end Gavin Escobar could be an interesting test case if this scenario occurred. As mentioned above, Escobar was bumped by Beasley as the number-four option, leaving the tight end seeing the field for under 25 percent of the offensive snaps. Much of what kept Escobar off the field, however, was an inability to block. Should the Cowboys need him to worry less about blocking and play him more like a receiver, he could see his time on the field increase. Escobar only saw 13 targets in 2014 and caught nine passes. Those nine catches, though, resulted in a 100 percent success rate and 1.35 Reception NEP per target.

What's most likely should this unlikely scenario occur is that there will be a group effort to replace any production lost from Bryant's absence. That would most likely each receiver seeing an increase in their 2014 roles -- including 2014 rookie Devin Street, who saw just seven targets. That's not a sexy prediction, but it's the most likely. Saying someone like Williams or Beasley could jump up to 100-plus targets would be silly. But then again, so is the whole situation that could have put the Cowboys in this scenario in the first place.

Fortunately, it looks like they're keeping their guy.