When defensive end Aldon Smith was signed by the Cowboys in April, it was seen as a calculated gamble by the Dallas front office. That roll of the dice paid off when Smith had his indefinite suspension lifted and was reinstated by the league in May, paving the way for him to return to professional football after four years away.
Many Cowboys fans assumed that a similar trajectory awaited pass rusher Randy Gregory. Suspended indefinitely by the league in February 2019, Gregory filed for reinstatement in March 2020. In April, the Cowboys extended his contract, and he has awaited a ruling on his return to the team ever since.
He is still waiting. And now he’s getting anxious.
Gregory posted the following to his Twitter account on Wednesday:
“I really miss playing football and being a player in the NFL. I’m doing everything that is asked of me and I’m in great shape physically, mentally, and emotionally but I’m being held back from furthering my career because of Covid and testing. I’ve been ready to play and test for months but still have gotten little to no help to resolve my reinstatement. I’m asking more questions than I’m getting answered. It’s amazing that the powers that be can keep passing the buck and also use this pandemic as a way to prevent me from joining my team. Telling me to just sit and wait in limbo over things I can’t control, all the while doing everything right off the field is unfair and flat out wrong!!!”
While the player may be frustrated, the team continues to show patience with the process.
Cowboys source on Randy Gregory’s statement: “He has to play by the NFL requirements and stay patient. He’ll be fine.”
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) August 5, 2020
The 2015 second-round draft pick last saw the field in the team’s playoff loss to the Rams following the 2018 season. It was the capper to a nice comeback campaign for the former Nebraska Cornhusker, who had missed 30 of the Cowboys’ 32 games over 2016 and 2017 due to suspensions. The indefinite suspension handed down in early 2019 came for violating both the league’s substance abuse policy and the terms of a previous conditional reinstatement.
The NFL has revised their substance abuse policy since Gregory’s suspension, fueling speculation that his reinstatement would be forthcoming.
According to USA Today’s Jori Epstein:
“In May, Gregory met by video conference with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, a necessary step before he could be granted reinstatement. But the person said Gregory hasn’t been able to prove via testing he conforms with NFL policy on substances of abuse due to pandemic challenges. He’s expected to have access to that testing again this weekend, the person said.”
Gregory’s tweet was not the first time he’s taken to social media in recent days to voice his disappointment with the process. NFL Network’s Bobby Belt shared a testy Twitter exchange from last week between Gregory and a member of NFL Players Association legal counsel.
Randy Gregory was obviously very frustrated with the NFL Players Association last week.
Joe Briggs is staff counsel for the NFLPA. pic.twitter.com/rJUCl3b3dZ
— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) August 5, 2020
While Gregory, his Dallas coaches and teammates, and Cowboys fans would certainly like the question of his 2020 availability cleared up as the season nears, there is no telling whether this sort of public pressure will have any effect on the league’s decision or their timeline for making it.
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