The Dallas Cowboys have bolstered the defensive end position quite a bit this season. They signed former All-Pro Aldon Smith back in April and drafted Bradlee Anae in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. However, the elephant in the room has been the reinstatement of Randy Gregory. After being suspended indefinitely by the league in February of 2019, he filed for reinstatement in March and had his contract extended in April.
Even with those positive steps, Gregory is still awaiting word from the NFL, and he took to Twitter on Wednesday to voice his displeasure:
“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!!!”
This isn't the first time he's taken to Twitter to state his frustration. Last week, he had an exchange with Joe Briggs who is counsel for the NFLPA, and it wasn't a pleasant one.
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
The NFL altered their substance abuse policy back in March, eliminating suspensions for positive marijuana tests. Once that came about, the expectation was for Gregory to be back with the organization in no time, yet he's still left wondering what the decision of his NFL fate will be.
Jori Epstein of USA Today Sports gave some insight about the current state of affairs involving Gregory according to a person with knowledge of his application:
“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.”
The last time Gregory was on the field in 2018, he showed signs of why the Cowboys drafted him in the second round in 2016. In 14 games (one start), he totaled 25 tackles, six sacks (second on the team), two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and 15 quarterback hits.
The hope is that Gregory can hopefully rejoin the Cowboys soon and start preparations for the upcoming season that's set to kick off next month. When or if that will happen is unknown.
