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Ex-Cowboy Dez Bryant signing with Saints ahead of Week 11 matchup vs. Eagles

Bryant got cut by the Cowboys in April and hadn't found a landing place until now — and he's primed to join a 7-1 Saints team that's rolling through the NFC.

Dez Bryant runs past Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby during a November 2017 NFC East matchup.
Dez Bryant runs past Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby during a November 2017 NFC East matchup.Read moreCLEM MURRAY / Staff Photographer

Dez Bryant found his way back into the NFL — and now the Eagles have to face him in less than two weeks.

The former Cowboys receiver is expected to sign a one-year deal to join the New Orleans Saints, ending a free-agency period that began when Dallas parted ways with the 30-year-old this spring. Bryant worked out with the Saints on Tuesday. The NFL Network says the deal will be signed Thursday, but terms were not disclosed.

New Orleans is 7-1 and coming off a big-time win over the previously undefeated Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Adding Bryant gives Saints quarterback Drew Brees a much-needed weapon — Michael Thomas is the only receiver who has impressed, catching 70 passes, scoring five touchdowns and averaging 110 receiving yards. The Saints have been relying on running back Alvin Kamara (490 rushing yards/9 rushing TDs, 427 receiving yards/4 rushing TDs) to carry a team that's averaging 34.9 points — second in the league, behind Kansas City.

Bryant spent his entire career with the Cowboys, who drafted him out of Oklahoma State in 2010, until the team cut him in April. In 2017, he played in all 16 regular-season games but caught just six touchdowns and had only 838 yards receiving — down from his career high of 16 TDs in 2014, the most recent prior year he played a full season.

The Saints will travel to Cincinnati to face the 5-3 Bengals and then return home to New Orleans for a highly anticipated matchup with the Eagles on Nov. 18. That game was flexed into a later 4:25 p.m. time slot.

But first the Eagles need to get past the struggling Cowboys, who have lost three of their last four to land at 3-5 entering Sunday night's game. Owner Jerry Jones insists he won't make a coaching change before the end of the season, but it's likely that head coach Jason Garrett is on the hot seat.