Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says that he's been thinking a lot about Dez Bryant's potential return to the Cowboys and what it would take to have him back on the roster. (1:36)

INDIANAPOLIS -- Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones is not opposed to Dez Bryant's return to the franchise. The wide receiver was released following the 2017 season.

"I've been thinking about it a lot in the shower," Jones said Thursday. "I have been. I'm not dismissing it. I don't want to sound like it should be dismissed by saying it. I'm thinking about it."

Bryant has been working out just yards away from the team facility in Frisco, Texas, as he attempts to return after two years away from game action because of a torn Achilles tendon. Bryant suffered the injury in his first practice with the New Orleans Saints in 2018. He was not on an NFL roster in 2019 but has been working out regularly, planning for a comeback.

Bryant, 31, most recently played in a game on Dec. 31, 2017, for the Cowboys. He was released in part because of an $18 million base salary and declining production. After signing a five-year, $70 million deal in 2015, Bryant was slowed by injuries that kept him out of 10 games in 2015 and '16. He caught 69 passes for 838 yards and six touchdowns in 2017.

The Cowboys selected Bryant in the first round of the 2010 draft and he is the franchise leader in touchdown receptions with 73. He caught 531 passes for 7,459 yards and was a three-time Pro Bowl pick.

"He's had a serious injury," Jones said. "He's been out a little bit, but Dez is a great player and the obvious [question] is the obvious: Is he still a great player? We know Dez better than anybody. I know him better than, I'm going to say anybody."

Bryant reached out to executive vice president Stephen Jones this offseason about a return. Earlier in the week, Stephen Jones said it was something the staff would look at, but the team's focus has been on its own players with free agency approaching.

Bryant had harsh words for some teammates, such as Sean Lee and Travis Frederick, after he was cut. He had been critical of former coach Jason Garrett as well, but Garrett has been replaced by Mike McCarthy.

Jerry Jones said those issues "are reparable. They really are because the very best of Dez is what I remember. The very best of him. I remember a lot of good things [that] far overshadow the negatives for me as a player. Now the question is, can he perform and can he overcome that injury and can he get in the kind of shape that it takes to be available?"

Bryant tweeted his support of Jones' comments:

Bryant was not the only topic Jones touched on during an 80-minute session on his luxury bus from the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.