Dallas Cowboys DE Randy Gregory officially active for Washington, can he bolster rush?
The Cowboys are getting some welcomed help on Sunday in the form of defensive end Randy Gregory, who will be playing his first game since 2018 due to an indefinite suspension for repeated violations of the substance-abuse policy.
He was reinstated by the NFL in September, but this is the first game he is eligible to play and he is officially active.
His teammates have raved about his work in practice. And they can’t wait to see him on the field.
“Randy is a baller,” linebacker Jaylon Smith said. Whenever he has the green light, it’s going to be one. I’m looking forward to playing with my brother.”
And the Cowboys need Gregory to bolster a pass rush that has failed to consistently get to the quarterback.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, Aldon Smith and Everson Griffen have 6.5 sacks combined. Smith has four by himself but none in the last three weeks.
Still, Gregory’s return is about redemption on and off the field, per owner Jerry Jones.
“My eyes on Randy Gregory is an individual accomplishment here,” Jones said. It’s been quite a road for him. It’s a long way from over, but it’s quite a road for him. He’s got this great opportunity in his life to rehab everything about it. But it’s hard and would be. But he is an outstanding football player. He should contribute. I don’t want to have to oversell him here. But I’m glad to see him on the field.”
The Inactive players for the Cowboys include quarterback Garrett Gilbert, receiver Malik Turner, safety Reggie Robinson, linebacker Rashad Smith, defensive end Bradley Anae, linebacker Luke Gifford and guard Zack Martin.
Gregory’s presence made Anae a casualty of the game-day roster.
This story was originally published October 25, 2020 at 11:08 AM.
