Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory is going through the league’s steps to apply for reinstatement, with his representation finishing the paperwork and hopeful of filing with the NFL next week, according to sources.
A source said, “He’s doing unbelievable in California, getting ready for the season. We’ve got our fingers crossed that he could become the comeback story of 2018.”
Several of Gregory’s teammates, including Tyrone Crawford and Sean Lee, wrote letters of support for Gregory to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“I tried to give my two cents to the league and what I think is best for Randy,” Crawford said Wednesday. “I think it’s best he’s back in the locker room, he’s back around us. I think it will be good for him, and it’ll be good for us.”
Gregory hasn’t played since the regular-season finale in 2016. The league suspended Gregory on January 6, 2017, for at least a year for violating its substance abuse policy.
Now, Gregory hopes for a second chance from the league.
“I have been proud of Randy during this offseason,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “I’m very aware of how hard he’s working to get back in the league and get back on the field. We know that his talent level. It’s concerning that he needs to be in a team environment and needs to be a part of the regime of preparing to actually compete, and so all of that will be a challenge for him, but very doable.
“I know him to be of the character and the kind of individual that is very capable of not only competing and overcoming the fact that he hadn’t played this past year. I think he’s capable of that. But I don’t want to be presumptuous in any way whether or not he’s going to qualify to be reinstated.”
Gregory has 20 tackles and a sack in 14 games since the Cowboys made him a second-round pick.