Dez Bryant makes appearance at final day of Cowboys minicamp

Dez Bryant doesn’t appear to be any closer to a new contract, yet the Dallas Cowboys’ star receiver made an appearance at the team’s final day of minicamp Thursday.

According to ESPN.com, Bryant did not practice, but he “sat with his teammates” as head coach Jason Garrett addressed the team. He also played catch with fellow receiver Cole Beasley and “spent a quick moment talking” with quarterback Tony Romo.

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Bryant has until July 15 to sign a franchise tag offer from the team that would pay him more than $12 million for the 2015 season. Because he hasn’t signed the offer, Bryant is technically not under contract with the team and is not required to participate in minicamps, which are mandatory for all other players.

Nonetheless, Bryant was there on the sideline at AT&T Stadium on Thursday. Garrett said it was “great” for Bryant to visit.

“It’s great to have him here. Dez obviously hasn’t signed his franchise deal yet, so he’s not practicing,” Garrett said per ESPN.com. “He’s dropped in really throughout the offseason program. Dez is a special guy. He’s obviously a heck of a football player, obviously very important to our football team. His approach is really well respected by anybody on our team, the guys he goes against. He’s got a great passion for the game, and it’s great to have him here.”

Bryant and his agent, Tom Condon, have indicated recently that Bryant would be willing to sit out regular season games if he does not get a long-term extension in place. Bryant indicated his want for long-term security in a tweet sent on Wednesday.

Cowboys ownership, including Jerry Jones (owner and general manager) and his son Stephen Jones (executive vice president), said this week they are not worried about the threat of Bryant sitting out. However, they have indicated that they understand where Bryant is coming from and would like to lock him up in Dallas for the foreseeable future.

"Our goal ultimately is to sign Dez to a long-term contract and I know Dez would like to have one, but this is an environment – especially with the receiver market – that’s not exactly easy to get your hands around," Stephen Jones said Tuesday on Sirius XM NFL Radio.

Added Jerry Jones on Wednesday: "I am sympathetic to it and understand it completely. And I would like nothing more than to have long-term security with Dez.”

Condon said earlier this week that he’s not sure whether Bryant would be willing to play the 2015 season under the franchise tag.

“We haven’t got that far yet and I would talk with the Cowboys about all of those situations before I talk about it publicly,” Condon said.

Bryant caught 89 passes for 1,350 yards and a league-leading 16 touchdowns last season.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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