Getty Randy Gregory
For the first time since 2018, Randy Gregory practiced with his Dallas Cowboys teammates whom the star-crossed defensive end should soon rejoin on the gridiron.
Reinstated from NFL suspension on Sept. 4, Gregory participated in individual drills Wednesday. Per USA Today’s Jori Epstein, he stretched and demonstrated his “get-off” alongside fellow pass-rushers Aldon Smith and Everson Griffen as Dallas resumed work ahead of Week 5.
This is part of Gregory’s “acclimation plan,” reports the Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken, that is “geared to him playing as early as Oct. 25 at Washington.”
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The Cowboys are slowly easing Gregory into the fold following his extended football inactivity. And although champing at the bit to hound quarterbacks again, the 28-year-old (in November) has done what’s asked through the glacial process.
“He’s making progress. Based where he is today (and what the training staff has said), everybody feels good about his conditioning,” head coach Mike McCarthy said on Oct. 1, via The Athletic.
The team’s 2015 second-round pick was consistently punished by league commissioner Roger Goodell for ongoing infractions detrimental to the sport’s personal conduct and substance-abuse policies. Gregory posted an out-of-nowhere six-sack 2018 before once again running into trouble; he was suspended indefinitely in February 2019 for breaking the terms of his conditional reinstatement.
Goodell opted to reinstate Gregory once more after the NFL revised its Collective Bargaining Agreement and relaxed punishment on marijuana-related offenses.
Days after getting the green light, the Cowboys extended his contract through 2021. Gregory, who was scheduled to become a restricted free agent, received a $200,000 signing bonus and can make a maximum of $2.1 million next season, the front office reluctant to cut bait with an eye-popping if mercurial talent.
“He’s really doing well off the field. It goes without saying what we think about him as a player,” Dallas VP Stephen Jones said last month on 105.3 The Fan, via The Athletic. “He’s just going to add to what we think is a really stout defensive front. You can’t have enough of these pass rushers.”
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Gregory’s Would-Be Role
It’s a far-reaching expectation that Gregory will hit the ground running as a three-down starter. There is a massive difference in physical shape and game shape, and he might take a while to optimally achieve the latter.
But Gregory should be given snaps as a situational edge rusher, perhaps spelling Aldon Smith, who leads the Cowboys with four sacks after similarly scoring reinstatement this offseason.
The club hasn’t received much production from anyone else. Griffen (one) and DT Antwaun Woods (one) are the only other linemen to notch a sack. As a whole, the historically bad defense — on pace to give up a franchise-record 584 points in 2020 — has collected just eight QB takedowns while ranking 30th in yards allowed per game (430.5).
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL