Cowboys’ Gregory Enters Treatment Facility

2:45pm: Gregory’s reps are still working on an appeal of Gregory’s potential 10-game suspension, Werder tweets.

1:30pm: Gregory’s coming suspension will be for at least ten games, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. There is concern on the Cowboys’ part that he may not play again.

12:57pm: Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory has entered a treatment facility and is not expected to report to training camp this week, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Gregory had another violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy and is now facing a longer suspension than he was originally slated for, sources tell ESPN.com’s Todd Archer and Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Randy Gregory

Gregory, 24 in November, didn’t see a ton of action during his first NFL season — he was slowed by an early-season ankle sprain and ended up recording 11 tackles over the course of 250 defensive snaps. Viewed as a surefire first-round pick – and a potential top-10 selection – based on talent, Gregory slipped in last year’s draft to 60th overall, where he was snatched up by the Cowboys. Off-field concerns, including a failed drug test at the combine, contributed to his slide. While Gregory didn’t make any off-field headlines during his first year in Dallas, he apparently failed several drug tests, leading to his initial suspension.

Recently, Cowboys COO spoke about Gregory’s four-game suspension and expressed disappointment. Now, Gregory will be out for even longer:

“It’s disappointing, but at the same time, sometimes these things don’t get fixed overnight. Anybody who has ever been involved in this type of situation knows that sometimes it takes time. We’re there, but he’s going to have to buckle down, which he is. He’s working hard at it, but he’s got to get over the hump here. You have to be concerned. That’s the risk you get when you go there. It’s all about that risk-reward deal, but at the end of the day, we got the infrastructure in place to continue to help him. We think he’s utilizing it, but at the same time, it’s disappointing that we had this go far enough that it resulted in a suspension.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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