I can't beleive this thread has gone on this long.
First off, there is no one available that can replace Dez Bryant. It isn't going to happen.
The veteran options aren't really options. Reggie Wayne just doesn't have it anymore. Some want to discount the talk but it is pretty clear what happened in NE. Hakeem Nicks wasn't great at the end of his time with the Giants and has bounced around ever since. AJ Jenkins has not made it with multiple teams and wasn't even the best receiver we cut out of training camp. I would say Nick Harwell was better overall. Why aren't people clamoring for him? Nick Toon is awful, as is Clyde Gates. Wes Welker isn't an outside receiver. The guy we got is a raw talent that has performed when he has been on the field. The Raiders coach and GM are not exactly known as the sharpest guys and their offense has been a mess for years. It is hard to judge any of their skill positions since they don't have a good OL and they have had bad or young QBs.
As for the cost, first we owe them NOTHING unless he is on the 53 for 6 games. So it is a free test drive. If he does make it for 6 games, they get our 5th...and we get their 6th. The likelihood is that there might be 10 picks or less between the two spots. That is almost nothing to give up for a guy that is a late rounder. He has already beat the odds as a 7th rounder...has been on the team every year since drafted.
If Romo is the QB that many of us think he is, he will make Butler the best receiver he can be. There are many QB's that just get it done with whoever is out there catching passes. I think Romo is one of these guys. He did with Laurent Robinson. He did with with Miles Austin and Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd.
Chances are Butler won't make a difference at all for at least a couple weeks as he gets familiar with the offense. Dallas' best course of action moving forward is more two TE sets, with Beasley and Williams the outside WR's....or even putting Escobar out wide with Beasley in the slot. Pretty sure Escobar worked a lot on the outside in camp. Given Dunbar's performance, I am also sure we will see him more on passing downs as a viable candidate. I also think we are going to do our best to level out the run/pass disparity from a week ago.