NFL suspends Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory for four games
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory has been suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.
It’s the realization of a Cowboys fear for since they took a chance on Gregory with a second-round pick in last year’s draft.
Considered a first-round talent, the former Nebraska star fell to the second round because of off-the-field concerns, including a positive test for marijuana at last year’s NFL Scouting Combine.
The Cowboys felt they had right infrastructure in place to manage and support Gregory, making this a good situation for both sides.
So far, it’s been a lose-lose scenario. Gregory followed up a disappointing rookie season, in which he registered no sacks and missed four games with a high ankle sprain, with a another failed drug test.
Gregory will be available for off-season practices, training camp and preseason games.
A four-game suspension comes after four failed tests, according to the NFL policy.
Gregory admitted last year that he struggled with marijuana in college at Nebraska, but blamed it on bad decision-making rather than having a problem with “weed.”
“It’s not so much about that, it’s about bad decision-making,” Gregory said after the draft.
One year later, he and the Cowboys are back in the same spot.
The Cowboys already had a need at defensive end in the upcoming draft and free agency. Jeremy Mincey, Greg Hardy and Jack Crawford are free agents, leaving Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence as the only ends under contract.
Gregory’s suspension makes the need more acute.
The team’s staff is heading to the scouting combine next week in Indianapolis. The Cowboys have five picks in the draft, including the fourth overall, and are expected to have four compensatory picks. The NFL Draft is April 28-30 in Chicago.
Clarence Hill: 817-390-7760, @clarencehilljr
This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 5:15 PM with the headline "NFL suspends Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory for four games."