The two games Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory played this season will be his last for a while. The NFL has officially suspended Gregory for one year without pay for violating its substance abuse policy.
The threat of a one-year ban had been hanging over Gregory’s head since he failed a drug test in November. Gregory elected to appeal that failed test, enabling him to take the field during the process, but his hearing with the league this past Tuesday didn’t yield the results he or the Cowboys wanted.
Gregory will now miss the Cowboys’ playoff run, however long it lasts, and all of next season. He’ll have to apply to commissioner Roger Goodell for reinstatement when the suspension expires. The earliest he’ll be able to do that is Nov. 6, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill, who adds that Gregory won’t have access to the Cowboys’ facilities during his suspension (Twitter links).
This is now the third ban in Gregory’s two-year pro career. Each suspension has come from a substance abuse violation, and the first two forced him to sit out the opening 14 games of the Cowboys’ season in 2016. Cognizant of his issues, Gregory checked into a treatment facility last July, but he still hasn’t been able to overcome his problems. The former Nebraska standout entered the league with drug-related concerns, including a failed test at the 2015 scouting combine, which caused his draft stock to plummet. Gregory had first-round talent, but he fell to Round 2, where the Cowboys nabbed him with the 60th overall pick.
Injuries and suspensions have combined to keep Gregory off the field for 18 of 32 regular-season games since his entrance into the pros. While the 24-year-old hasn’t made a significant impact when he actually has played, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has decided to this point that Gregory’s potential outweighs his baggage.
Gregory amassed his first career sack in a Week 17 loss to the Eagles, but that will be his last notable contribution for the foreseeable future.
Seriously, why did the Cowboys try to incorporate him when it was all but certain this would happen? Oh wait..Jerry.
Well if you think about it, he took some reps away from the guys that will be on the playoff roster so they could get some rest and not risk injury…more importantly this guy isn’t proving to be a reliable character and if he doesn’t get it right now he will be another wash out in the NFL that couldn’t get his life together and play football for big bucks
Because he was one of 6 healthy defensive lineman the last 2 games and we rested everyone who was dealing with any kind of injury. This is nonsense.
Well Jerry flat out said they need him so…
What a disgrace. Let his entire team down. To have that talent and waste it.
On the left hand weed on the right hand lots of cash money. Pick one. The left hand !!! Very smart Gregory. Take a hike bozzo you belong in the Circus for that clown act!!!
He’s a naughty boy.
What a loss from a talented young player. It’s going to be a difficult decision on keeping or cutting Gregory. At least he is rookie cheap.
My feelings about weed aside, Gregory knows the rules. Actually F that. Weed has been proven to be less detrimental healthwise than alcohol or opiate pain killers. I just hate the double standard the league and this country portrays. But rules are rules so cmon bro don’t cost yourself millions
you can’t say it any better…great comment
Same as the steroid comment. These guys are supposedly role models for young persons. Do you want your kids shooting up roids? Do you want your kids getting high? In my MIDDLE SCHOOL kids ranged from fighting each other over weed after school to doing coke in the bathrooms in 6th grade. That’s in the suburbs. Now one would say well you probably drink alcohol. Which I do, but I don’t get drunk, hardly get buzzed. I can have one drink with dinner and not be effected. I can’t have 1 joint and not be effected.
Guys like Gregory and Manziel are always thinking in the back of their minds, that they will always get another chance tomorrow. When tomorrow turns to yesterday, they will have to live with what a golden opportunity they let get away.
There is a reason red flags posted all around this guy at draft time
I think league punishment for failing these tests is to get punched in the nuts once a week for every week you miss.
For everyone outside of Dallas: it’s been made known that Gregory has some sort of mental illness apart from addiction. That is supposedly his “justification”. He is on antidepressants now, if you believe Charles Haley (I do).
The punishment for weed is excessive.