NFL training camp report

Bryant on track for Dallas

OXNARD, Calif. - Dez Bryant moves from one set of autograph-seekers to another, fans screaming his name while he signs footballs and jerseys - and a baby.

The Dallas receiver is the star of training camp, playing like a leader and even talking like one after his first trouble-free offseason in three years.

The high-risk draft pick who fell to the Cowboys late in the first round in 2010 is very close to getting reclassified as high-reward - if he’s not already there.

“I’m just impressed at this stage with how he’s handled himself,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “Those that are the closest to him, those that have a dog in the fight, so to speak, which our fans do - a lot of other people are rooting for Dez, too - it’s a consensus that he’s making great strides.”

Bryant’s lowest point in a series of misadventures came last summer, when he was arrested on a misdemeanor family violence charge over an incident involving his mother. He struck a deal with prosecutors a few months later that could lead to a clean record and was one of the best receivers in the league in the second half of a breakthrough season.

Coming off career bests of 1,382 yards, 12 touchdowns and three games played with a broken finger, Bryant has been downright dominant early in training camp.

He soars over starting cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne to make catches and is diving for balls more than six weeks before the regular season starts.

“Truth be told, I love this game so much,” Bryant said Tuesday. “Even if we weren’t getting paid, I’d still be probably be out and be a football player. That’s what I love to do. You’ve got to have a strong passion to be great.”

There was never any questioning Bryant’s talent or passion. But he missed most of his final season at Oklahoma State for lying about meeting with Deion Sanders, and there were whispers that he was late for team meetings in college and enigmatic when it came to pro workout days.

He didn’t help himself after his rookie year when he created a scene over sagging pants at an upscale mall about the same time he was sued for unpaid jewelry bills.

So to hear him tell a huge media contingent it was time to be a role model for younger players while the fans clamored for his attention, well, things have changed.

“I think there’s no backwards for me,” Bryant said. “I feel like I’ve got that role here to lead by example doing all the right things and me being in that role to make sure these guys are doing the right thing. Not only on the field but off the field. It don’t feel like, ‘Hey, I’m structured, I got to do this.’ I’m doing it out of my own heart. This is the type of guy I am. I’m not a bad guy.”

Bryant was already on his way to making believers out of his teammates last year when he broke his left index finger against Cincinnati and went on to catch a crucial touchdown pass after the injury in a come-frombehind win.

Coach Jason Garrett says the Cowboys seriously considered putting him in season-ending injured reserve, but decided not to in part because Bryant went into Garrett’s office and made an emotional plea to keep playing.

Bryant started two of the three remaining games, set a career high with 224 yards against New Orleans and vowed to be on his feet again quickly after coming home from a season-ending loss at Washington in a wheelchair with a back injury.

“How do you influence other people? Dez is a very influential guy,” Garrett said. “I think when young players come in, see how he practices, see his passion forthe game, boy, that influences them. And to be honest with you, guys who are his contemporaries, guys who are older than him, more veteran players see him and say, ‘Wow that’s how you’re supposed to do it.’” BUCCANEERS

WR signs for $40.25M

TAMPA, Fla. - Mike Williams wants to be a Tampa Bay Buccaneer for life and has a new contract he hopes will help him achieve that goal.

The fourth-year receiver reported for training camp Wednesday and promptly signed a six-year, $40.25 million deal that he earned by significantly outperforming the one he received as a fourth-round draft pick in 2010.

Some scouts rated him as a potential first-round prospect coming out of college, however many teams were reluctant to select him because of on- and off-thefield issues at Syracuse.

“I kind of put a chip on my shoulder to prove everybody wrong,” Williams said. “Then when I thought about it, I said: ‘Just be Mike.

Show them who you really are.’ This is where all the lights are, where everybody watches you. Basically who you really are now, they are going to see in the end.

That’s what happened. I proved to people I’m not that guy they thought I was.”

Playing the side opposite of free agent acquisition Vincent Jackson, the 26-yearold had 63 catches for 996 yards and nine touchdowns to help Josh Freeman becamethe first 4,000-yard passer in franchise history.

Jackson, meanwhile, flourished in the first year of a contract worth over $55 million by leading the Bucs with 72 catches for 1,384 yards and eight TDs.

Williams was entering the final season of the contract he signed as a rookie. He had 65 receptions for 964 yards and 11 TDs in his first pro season, then followed with 65 catches for 771 yards in 2011.

FALCONS Trufant inks deal

ATLANTA - Rookie cornerback Desmond Trufant has signed a fouryear deal with the Atlanta Falcons and was the first player to report for the start of training camp.

Atlanta announced the deal Wednesday. Trufant’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, told The Associated Press that the contract was for $8.16 million with $4.3 million guaranteed.

“Desmond is very excited to get started,” Hendrickson said. “He made it clear he wanted to be in camp on time. As usual, the Falcons were great to work with, and we’re glad to get this deal done.”

Trufant was one of the first players to report to dorms at the team’s training facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. Camp officially begins today with the first practice.

Atlanta traded up eight spots in a draft-day deal with St. Louis to select Trufant out of Washington. He is the leading candidate to start at right cornerback but will have to beat out RobertAlford, a second-round pick from Southeastern Louisiana. BRONCOS LB silent on case

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.

• Broncos linebacker Von Miller offered no details about his pending drug case and possible four-game suspension, repeatedly invoking the NFL’s confidentiality clause to deflect questions during his session with reporters Wednesday.

The All-Pro pass rusher acknowledged his case is under appeal and promised he would provide some candid answers once the appeal is resolved.

Miller said everything at training camp, which begins today, will be business as usual, while he waits to hearif he’ll be banned beginning Aug. 30 - the day after Denver’s final preseason game.

Coach John Fox took the same tack, citing the confidentiality clause and offering virtually no details.

The coach said Miller would practice with the first team until the team receives any official word about the linebacker’s status.

COLTS Top pick signs

INDIANAPOLIS - Indianapolis Colts’ firstround draft pick Bjoern Werner will make it to training camp on time this weekend.

Werner, the 24th overall pick in April, agreed to a contract in principle Wednesday, becoming the last of the Colts’ seven draft picks to reach a deal.

A person familiar with the contract said Werner agreed to a four-year contract worth $7.896 million and will receive a $4.12 million signing bonus. The person, who requested anonymity because the team had not announced terms of the deal, said $6.4 million of the total is guaranteed. The total value is a slight increase over the $7.8 million deal David DeCastro, last year’s No. 24 pick, received from Pittsburgh.

Werner played defensive end at Florida State, but the German-born star will switch to outside linebacker in Indianapolis. He was the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2012, then skipped his senior season to enter the draft. Werner finished his junior season 13th in the nation with 13 sacks and ranked second in the ACC with 18 tackles for loss. He had 42 tackles (30 solo), eight passes defensed,one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

As a freshman at Florida State, Werner played in all 14 games. He started his last 27 games with the Seminoles and finished his college career with 99 tackles (63 solo).

ODDS & ENDS

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones - who grew up in North Little Rock - has been selected for the National Football Foundation Leadership Hall of Fame. Jones was an All-Southwest Conference lineman at the University of Arkansas and was a cocaptain of the Razorbacks’ 1964 team. Jones purchased the Cowboys in 1989. He will be inducted into the NFF hall on Oct. 3 during a ceremony in Dallas. … The Detroit Lions have signed wide receiver Chaz Schilens, who had 28 catches for the New York Jets last season.

The 27-year-old Schilens started six games for the Jets last season. He spent the previous four years with the Oakland Raiders, the team that drafted him in the seventh round in 2008. Schilens is also an accomplished baseball player. The Detroit Tigers drafted him in the 34th round out of high school.

… The Jacksonville Jaguars announced they have claimed undrafted rookie safety Ray Polk off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks.

The 6-foot, 219-pound Polk played in 40 games at Colorado and recorded 237 tackles, three tackles for loss and one interception.

His most productive season came as a junior in 2011 when he had 80 tackles, tied for second most on the team.