Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant
Dec 14, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) makes a reception past Philadelphia Eagles free safety Malcolm Jenkins (27) and inside linebacker Mychal Kendricks (95) during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. The Cowboys defeated the Eagles 38-27. Reuters

The Dallas Cowboys and Dez Bryant are still unable to agree on a long-term deal but the team already has plans in how to retain him for the immediate future. The Cowboys using their “franchise tag” on wide receiver Bryant is seen as the solution.

"No, we have the franchise -- for sure. Not at all," Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboy said, via a radio show on 105.3 The Fan Dallas/Fort Wort. “You’re talking about Dez? No, we have the franchise alternative -- which I thought everybody was aware of."

Jones also said that the two side just have to agree on the deal and that they should do a better job of “managing our dollars” for any future agreement.

The franchise tag in the NFL is designed to help teams retain key free agents, especially to bigger market squads or teams with more salary cap. An NFL general manager can decide to tag any player so that they can still explore moves via the NFL draft and other trades and transactions without going past the league’s salary cap.

Other NFL players with the franchise tag are Greg Hardy (Carolina Panthers), Nick Folk (New York Jets), Brian Orakpo (Washington Redskins), Jimmy Graham (New Orleans Saints) and Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears), among others in 2014. In earlier reports this season, Bryant is apparently ready to demand a big-money contract considering his status as one of the best players, or specifically, wide receivers, in the league and “deserves to be one of the three highest paid receivers in the NFL.”

To compare, the top paid wide receivers in the NFL in 2014 are Mike Wallace ($15 million) of the Miami Dolphins, Andre Johnson ($10 million) of the Houston Texans and Vincent Jackson ($10 million) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"It's all about respect. It's all about respect," Bryant said via ESPN in November 2014. "I am a very loyal person, but just don't test my loyalty.” Bryant, who has 1,221 receiving yards on 84 receptions in the 2014 season, leads the entire league with 14 touchdown receptions. Bryant is one of the key players why Dallas is atop the NFC East with an 11-4 record and on the way to the postseason.

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