Todd Archer of ESPNDallas reports that sources confirmed to him that Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant actually participated in individual drills at Thursday's OTA. Bryant was limited to those individual drills, and it's unclear how much he actually was involved, but having the receiver at the Ranch and on the field is a nice step in the right direction.

Bryant has yet to sign his franchise-tag tender that will pay him over $12 million, so it was unlikely he would show up at all for OTAs. The hope is that the Cowboys and Bryant's agents can come to terms on along-term deal before the July 15th deadline. By all accounts Bryant is in good shape and has been seen at Valley Ranch on numerous occasions.

Maybe we owe Bryant's appearance to Tony Romo. When asked yesterday about Bryant and OTAs, he said: