Yesterday, the NFL granted reinstatement to Aldon Smith, but it sounds like his teammate will have to wait a bit longer. ESPN’s Todd Archer reports that Randy Gregory “remains in the return process” from his suspension.
We heard back in March that the organization was expecting the defensive end to be reinstated and be back with the team next season. However, the former second-round pick remains suspended indefinitely, and a report from April indicated that we wouldn’t receive any clarity until after the NFL Draft. That event has obviously come and gone, and while Smith may have been reinstated by the league, it sounds like Gregory’s case is taking longer to settle.
Gregory missed the entire 2017 and 2019 seasons because of substance-abuse suspensions. The 27-year-old has been productive when he’s seen the field, including a 2018 campaign where he compiled 25 tackles, six sacks, and two forced fumbles in 14 games. Gregory was set to apply for reinstatement last summer, but an apparent slip-up in his aftercare program helped put those plans on hold.
While it sounds like Gregory still has a ways to go until he’s reinstated by the league, his agent, Peter Schaffer, sounded optimistic following yesterday’s news about Smith.
“We are very happy for Alden and wish him all the luck in the world and a successful resumption of his career,” Schaffer said. “It’s refreshing to see the NFL following through on their stated goal to focus more on rehabbing players than punishing players.”
That locker room is gonna pretty cloudy
And what better way to rehab an addict with an obvious issue than to return him to the atmosphere that fostered the addiction and to not have any repercussions for using again?
What an odd punishment, trying to save a person’s life. But, by all means, let him play football and let him smash his head in repeatedly and ruin his long term health because…FOOTBALL!!!