Rookie pass-rusher Randy Gregory keeps making plays that make the Cowboys smile.
But Thursday, it wasn’t a sack or a pressure.
Via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Gregory bought the team an early departure from training camp by successfully fielding a punt. Coach Jason Garrett told his players they’d break early if one of the six linemen he chose could catch one (although we can’t imagine he’d have unloaded the planes and stayed an extra day if they didn’t).
“I had to step up, catch one for the team, send us back home,” Gregory said. “The pressure was all on me. I guess I performed well.”
Gregory said he hadn’t caught a punt since his freshman year in high school, but that didn’t deter him, completing the challenge on the first attempt. That created a celebration, as the players got home a day early before their home preseason opener against the Vikings this weekend.
“It’ll be good to get everybody back home, sleeping in their own bed tonight,” Garrett said. “We’ll go into Valley Ranch tomorrow and have a regular day before the game schedule and then play Saturday night.”
Of course, the Cowboys are counting on Gregory having impact in other ways this season, particularly early in the year, while Greg Hardy’s serving his four-game suspension. All the early returns on the second-round pick from Nebraska have been positive, and the Cowboys hope he rewards them for taking a chance on him when other teams were unwilling to.