FRISCO, Texas – Despite his fourth suspension since his second-round draft selection in 2015, the Dallas Cowboys are once again placing faith in embattled Randy Gregory. The team announced in February that the power edge rusher was once again suspended indefinitely for violating the League’s Policy and Program on Substance of Abuse.
Head Coach, Jason Garrett, has continued to do everything he can do to help the struggling player and the team announced Tuesday they will be extending Gregory’s contract through 2020.
“Our eyes were wide open about what Randy’s situation was when we drafted him,“ Garrett remarked at the 2019 NFL Combine. “We fully support Randy. Randy is a good young man. He has some issues he has been dealing with. He has tried to deal with those issues head on from day one. He spent a lot of time getting professional help for his issues. He has worked very hard. He is very serious minded about trying to get back and be an established football player. He did a really good job for us this year after working through a lot of different obstacles. Unfortunately, he has had a setback and he is not going to be with us for the near term. But we will continue to support him. He is a good young man. He has worked very hard to try to address some challenging issues. Our minds were wide open from the outset. We will continue to try to support him and provide a good structure for him to be his best.”
Coach Garrett is not the first coach for the Dallas Cowboys to continually offer support in an attempt to create a stable and healthy environment for a player with substance abuse. Tom Landry did everything he could in his power to help Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson. Landry saw the full potential in Henderson, as does Garrett with Gregory. Hopefully with yet another chance to play for America’s Team in the NFL, that Gregory will turn over a new leave and stay clean, unlike the outcome of Henderson’s story.
Dallas acquired Robert Quinn from the Dolphins in exchange for a 2020 sixth-round pick as a contingency and depth for their defensive front. He can seal the edge and will play right end in Gregory’s absence, opposite from DeMarcus Lawrence.
