Earlier this week Cowboys DE Randy Gregory met with Roger Goddell to apply for re-instatement with the NFL. Many Cowboy fans are excited about the possibility of the former 2nd round pick being added to a deep group of DE’s battling it out for a roster spot this season. Gregory was a top tier talent coming out of college but injury and most notably suspensions have kept him off the field for the majority of his career. He has been a major disappointment after Dallas took a chance on him in 2015 but he appears to have turned his life around and is ready to contribute. If he does get reinstated, should the Cowboys give him another shot?
It is hard to argue against it. The Cowboys are relentlessly trying to bolster their pass rush and Gregory may be the most talented pure pass rusher they have. He is still playing on his rookie deal so there is no big financial commitment. Lastly, the Cowboys love to promote competition during training camp in order to strengthen the position group as a whole. Adding a player of Gregory’s caliber would certainly help achieve that. It would appear as though the Cowboys have nothing to lose.
On the other hand, adding Gregory into the mix does complicate things. The Cowboys have a lot of depth at defensive end. Demarcus Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford appear to be the starters but there is also Taco Charlton, Kony Ealy, Dorance Armstrong JR, Charles Tapper, Datone Jones and Austin Larkin in the mix. Bringing Gregory into the fold will force the Cowboys to choose between his upside over a potential contributor that comes with far less off the field concerns. Realistically, Gregory has only played a handful of meaningful snaps in the last 2 years. How could the Cowboys expect him to be able perform at a high level after being away from the game for so long? Can the Cowboys trust him given his history of bad decisions? What type of message does that send to the rest of the team with regards to tolerance towards lack of discipline?
I am happy that Randy Gregory appears to have made some positive changes in his life. He is still a young man and he has his whole life ahead of him. Hopefully he has exercised his demons and he continues towards a better path. As a fan of the Dallas Cowboys however, I hope that they remove themselves and cut their losses at this point. It may appear that there is nothing to lose by giving Randy Gregory a chance but in reality this team has a hard time dealing with off the field distractions.
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