The Dallas Cowboys will miss Dez Bryant.

Although that may not be true from a front-office perspective, made obvious by their willingness to release the All-Pro wide receiver just ahead of the start of the team's offseason program, but it's definitely an emotion being felt in the locker room. Despite Bryant's proclamation of "Garrett Guys" helping to end his historic career with the Cowboys, the opposite side of the table has now continually come out against it, painting their side of the coin with a much rosier color.

Aiming his ire at unnamed individuals who wear the captain's patch, the search (or rather, speculation) was on to determine just who he was referring to.

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Quarterback Dak Prescott and center Travis Frederick, two of the six captains from 2017, spoke about Bryant with reverence and the former made the direct point he had nothing to do with the team's decision -- given he's only the "second-year QB". With cornerback Orlando Scandrick now taking up residence in Washington, it was safe to assume he was never the guy anyway, given his own fiery demeanor that closely matched that of Bryant's.

In the end, we'll never truly know who Bryant was referring to, but tight end Jason Witten wanted to clear the air himself and let it be known not only did he not help push his longtime teammate out, but he also knows the bell will soon toll for him as well.

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“Absolutely not,” Witten said when asked if there's a divide in the locker room like Bryant suggests, via Drew Davison of Fort Worth-Star Telegram. “My job and everybody else’s is to go play and try to lead the best we can by example. There’s nothing to that. Look, being a captain is a huge honor for me and the other guys and I know what those guys' character is all about.

"There's really nothing there."

"....To see Dez’s time here come to an end – one of the most prolific receivers in this franchise’s history. I was fortunate to see it and live it every day in the way he played and the way he practiced. Personally, I took a lot of pride in seeing him come in as a young rookie and overcoming all the things he did and developing into one of the best, if not the best, wide receivers in football. So many great plays, so many great memories. So many days and evenings spent talking about routes and technique and the passion he showed. It was an emotional day for all of us, myself included, to see him.

“Fortunately, I’ve been around long enough that it’s happened to a lot of friends of mine – Miles (Austin) and DeMarco (Murray) and DeMarcus (Ware) and Tony (Romo) and Doug Free and Marc Colombo. So many, on and on that I can go. I understand that it doesn’t last forever. It’ll happen to me, as well.”

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Linebacker Sean Lee, another team captain, not only hates to see Bryant leave but also doesn't want to play against him going forward -- something that's quite possible with Bryant wanting to land in the NFC East, if he can.

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"It's tough to see because of the type of player he was. Me and Dez came [into the NFL] together," said Lee, via Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News. "He's one of the best players I've ever played with. He's a guy that I fed off his passion. It's extremely tough to see, but Dez is a dominant football player and he's going to continue to be a dominant football player. We're going to be praying for him, rooting for him.

"...It would be torture to play against a guy like that, who plays as hard as he does, who makes all those plays. As a linebacker, I always felt it was like tackling a running back with how hard he ran [and] how tough he was. That would be extremely tough for us."

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[Cowboys STARcast: Legacy of Dez Bryant and is Dak Prescott really a franchise QB?]

Suitors are beginning to line up for Bryant but he likely won't find a landing spot until after the NFL Draft, which also begs the question as to why the Cowboys released him in mid-April as opposed to earlier in the offseason when they truly decided it was time to move on. The team holds firm the decision wasn't made at that point, but their attempt to pay Sammy Watkins upwards of $16 million per season -- $3.5 million more than the 2018 base salary of Bryant -- says otherwise.

The Cowboys themselves will now need to formulate a plan that involves more than simply promoting newly-signed wideout Allen Hurns to the No. 1 role as they work to make the offense more "Dak-friendly". For his part, after already making it clear he doesn't have the power to force personnel decisions, Prescott is still willing to take the blame for the divorce from Bryant.

He admits readily he simply needs to get better at being a QB, a fact overlooked by many, considering the two simply never jelled as the team hoped they would.

"For me, I mean being a quarterback, being a captain, I take the blame," Prescott said, via Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I take all the blame. When you lose, things like this happen. So Dez knows how I feel.

"We've shared messages and he knows my stance on everything so I wish him well."