Cowboys Expect Randy Gregory Return

9:48pm: Gregory has made the move to file for reinstatement, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports. The league has 60 days to approve or deny the application.

9:30pm: The new CBA significantly loosened constraints for non-PED substance abuse, and at least one player who ran afoul of the previous CBA’s off-field guidelines may be set for a return to action.

The Cowboys are expecting Randy Gregory to be reinstated and be back with the team next season, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News reports. A former second-round pick remains suspended indefinitely. Gregory missed the entire 2017 and ’19 seasons because of substance-abuse suspensions; he registered six sacks in 2018. The 27-year-old defensive end said recently he wants to play next season.

Gregory plans to apply for reinstatement soon, and Moore notes the Cowboys are willing to give him another chance. His Cowboys contract runs through the 2020 season. Gregory was set to apply for reinstatement last summer, but Moore indicates a slip-up in his aftercare program helped put those plans on hold.

This CBA will only produce marijuana-based suspensions in extreme cases (and only when players fail to cooperate with treatment) and, while DUIs will be dealt with in a stricter manner than they once were, other substance-abuse restrictions have been loosened. This leaves Gregory and others in limbo, but the Cowboys are optimistic on this front. This will, however, be an interesting challenge for Roger Goodell. Gregory has been suspended four times since coming into the league.

The Cowboys, however, are not planning on having David Irving back. The NFL suspended Irving indefinitely because of substance abuse, doing so just before the defensive lineman was to enter free agency last year. While the Cowboys retain his rights, Moore adds they have moved on.

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