Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones On Randy Gregory

Randy Gregory is laying the groundwork for his return to football, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is not getting his hopes up. While Jones credited the defensive end for his work to get his life back on track, he says that he is not banking on the commissioner to let him back in for 2018. 

“I am not confident [in Gregory being reinstated], but I do see where his heart is,” Jones said (via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). “He is one the smartest people to have played this game. This is a tremendous step. He has had that same IQ since he has had these issues. That’s an issue. This is definitely a medical issue. There is no doubt in my mind about the medical. That is another campaign. It’s a pretty circuitous route. It has a lot of discretionary things to determine. There is a lot of subjectiveness. But he is doing very well. He’s got a lot to play for. He has a new baby. He has a lot going for him. He is very astute about knowing that. He has to do what a lot of us have had to do and that is to do better at 24 and 25 than when you were 20.”

Jones offered support for Gregory on a personal and professional level noting that he is “really a good person,” and “one helluva football player.” Still, Jones knows that the reinstatement process is somewhat subjective. His own personal relationship with Roger Goodell might not help matters either.

The Cowboys will start Demarcus Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford at the bookends with Taco Charlton, Charles Tapper, and Datone Jones offering support from the bench. The Cowboys have said all along that they are hoping to get Gregory back in the fold, but they are also planning for life without him in 2018. That could mean some edge rushing reinforcements next month through the draft.