Cowboys TE Rico Gathers will finally play in an NFL game, Randy Gregory is inactive

Tight end Rico Gathers is active for Sunday night’s game against the New York Giants.\

But defensive end Randy Gregory is not.

Gregory missed two days of practice last week in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in the season opener. He returned to practice Friday on a limited basis and was listed as doubtful for the game.

Gathers is active for the first time in his career and will replace rookie tight end Dalton Schultz on the game-day roster.

Schultz was active for the season opener.

Gathers, who played basketball in college at Baylor, has been with the Cowboys since 2016. He hadn’t played football since he was in eighth grade.

He has struggled with the transition to the game and the nuances of the position the past couple of years. But he is a definite red zone threat because of his 6-foot-6 height.

Gathers earned a spot on the team’s 53-man roster despite being arrested for marijuana possession the night before final cuts. Coach Jason Garrett said Gathers showed significant improvement in his blocking during training camp.

Garrett said on Friday that Gathers was finally ready to contribute on game day.

Schultz only played two offensive snaps last week.