Jerry Jones on Bryant's playing status

Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was examined by an orthopedic hand surgeon Monday afternoon and X-rays revealed a fractured left index finger. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Tuesday morning that it had yet to be determined if Bryant would have season-ending surgery on the finger he injured in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 20-19 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. But Jones added that the final decision would be made by Bryant. "It has not been decided by Dez, who will be the ultimate decision maker, whether or not he wants to try to continue to play with a lot of protection or whether or not he should have surgery," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan KRLD-FM. "The reason for the surgery now is because without it you could have life-lasting stiffness that people that know hand surgery know that if you get in there and fix it that you have a chance of avoiding. But make no mistake about it, Dez is chomping at the bit and wants to take the route of playing." Jones said former Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens "had a similar risk with a really much less injury" to one of his fingers while he was playing for the Cowboys. Owens was told that he could face permanent stiffness in the finger but he choose to play and have surgery in the off-season. "Certainly, we're very mindful of everything involved here and are making sure that everyone, mostly Dez, has all the right information so that he and we can make a decision," Jones said. "We know a lot right now and we'll get a little more information here over the next day or so."