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Dez Bryant Explains Why He'd Like To Play For A Team Like The Patriots

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- The NFL season officially began Sunday for most of the NFL, and it all happened without Dez Bryant being on an active roster.

But the free agent wide receiver stays active on Twitter, and with the football flowing on Sunday, Bryant was pretty busy. As he tends to, Bryant was responding to a number of tweets, and from a New England perspective there was one that stood out quite a bit.

Shortly after tweeting that he'll be "pursuing football again shortly," Bryant said he'd prefer to play for a team like the Patriots than going back to the Cowboys.

"If I line up next to [Rob Gronkowski, Chris Hogan and Julian Edelman], I'm for sure getting a 1 on 1 matchup," Bryant tweeted.

And, in an interesting distinction, Bryant said he'd feel free to express his "love for the game" without being criticized for it.

As tweets do, this one caught some attention. But Bryant went out to dispel any notion that this was a pitch or a plea to the Patriots to sign him.

The 29-year-old Bryant caught 69 passes for 838 yards and six touchdowns last season for Dallas, his eighth season with the Cowboys. He remained unsigned throughout the summer, so it feels as though the Patriots didn't or do not have tremendous interest in bringing him aboard. But it's at least now known that when it comes to choosing a preferred landing spot to actually play this season, New England ranks high on Bryant's list.

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