Jason Garrett supports Dez Bryant

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NFL32OT: Let The Camps Begin

Episode 174: Suzy Kolber and Chris Mortensen discuss who will make more noise this season: the Jets or the Giants. The "NFL32" crew breaks down the Cowboys. Merril Hoge and Herm Edwards debate the coaching dilemma facing the Saints.Tags: New York Giants, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, NFL32OT, NFL32

NFL32OT: Let The Camps Begin

IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett offered his support Wednesday for troubled wide receiver Dez Bryant, who is facing jail time and a suspension by the NFL for his arrest last week on a Class A misdemeanor for allegedly assaulting his mother.

"I have spoken to Dez a number of times since the incident last week," Garrett said after the first day of a three-day practice session for rookies and selected veterans at Valley Ranch. "First and foremost, we support Dez Bryant's family. We support Dez. We support his mom; we want to help them in any way that we can. We have the resources to do that."

Dez Bryant and his mother, Angela, held a brief news conference on Tuesday to release a statement saying that even though there was an incident, no violence took place, and they love each other.

A Dallas County district attorney's spokeswoman said the case filed by DeSoto, Texas, police against Dez Bryant includes an affidavit of nonprosecution from the complainant. The affidavit means the complainant doesn't want to proceed.

Yet the district attorney's office is still reviewing the case and hasn't determined if it will press charges against Dez Bryant.

"They ask that there not be a rush to judgment concerning their family," Bryant's lawyer, Texas state Sen. Royce West, said as he read from a prepared statement. "They also ask for your continued prayers and support for their family as they work through this matter."

Police issued an arrest warrant for Bryant last week after a July 14 incident in which he allegedly hit his mother in the face with a baseball cap. The police affidavit said Bryant grabbed his mother by her T-shirt, causing her bra to tear.

"Anybody who knows Dez Bryant's story and knows our team understands that he comes from a challenging background," Garrett said. "He's had a difficult road to get to where he is in his life.

"There's no excuse for anything that's happened in his life. You can't go back and say, 'Hey, I came from this background.' That's not what we're saying. We understand what that is and we understand as an organization how we can try to help him. He's made a lot of progress since he's been here with the Cowboys, both as a person and as a player, and he has a long way to go just like we all do."

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Calvin Watkins

ESPNDallas.com

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Calvin Watkins joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He's covered the Cowboys since 2006 and also has covered colleges, boxing and high school sports.