SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Cowboys rookie receiver Dez Bryant says he is in training camp to catch passes, not carry somebody else’s shoulder pads.
The Cowboys were in pads for the first time in camp Sunday. Veteran players traditionally hand their pads to a rookie at the end of practice, but when receiver Roy Williams handed his to Bryant after the first of two sessions, the rookie didn’t carry them.
WATCH COVERAGE OF DEZ BRYANT and ROY WILLIAMS FROM NBC SPORTS:
[NBCVIDEO source=”SPORTS” video=”http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/33399756″ w=”592″ h=”346″ launch_id=”38428659″ id=”msnbc30242f”]
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Bryant says he was drafted to play football and that he’d feel the same way if he was an undrafted rookie and not the team’s first-round pick.
Williams says every rookie has to go through such rituals. He says he carried pads and paid for meals when he was a rookie for Detroit in 2004.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.