Dallas Cowboys: It’s foolish to give up on Randy Gregory now

It doesn’t make much sense for the Dallas Cowboys to give up on Randy Gregory now

Dak Prescott has been dominating the Dallas Cowboys news feed this week, he isn’t the only player whose name has popped up on the ticker. Randy Gregory, the Cowboys second pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, has been a recent topic of debate himself this week, and like Prescott, his future status remains quite uncertain.

While No. 4 is, at the very least, set up to play this season with the Dallas Cowboys, Randy Gregory’s playing status isn’t quite so certain. Residing on the infamous, commissioner’s suspended list, Gregory is currently banished from the team after repeated violations to the NFL’s drug policy.

Despite basically decriminalizing marijuana under the new CBA, Gregory isn’t just automatically reinstated. He’s forced to go through the same process as before and ultimately requires Roger Goodell’s approval before he can rejoin his Dallas teammates and try to get his career back on track.

Given the league’s new stance on weed, and Aldon Smith’s recent reinstatement with arguably worse offenses, fans have been optimistic regarding Gregory’s status. But reports have recently surfaced that the Dallas Cowboys “have all but given up hope” of his reinstatement, causing many in Cowboys Nation to throw their hands up in the air and proclaim in disgust, “enough!”

The Randy Gregory Experiment needed to end two years ago. Hope is not a strategy. #Cowboys @NBCDFWSports https://t.co/qX6PNgZIiD
— Newy Scruggs (@newyscruggs) July 14, 2020

While this reaction is perfectly understandable for this frustrated fan base, it’s a knee jerk reaction born from emotion rather than logic. That’s because an objective look at things clearly shows it would be foolish to give up on Randy Gregory now and the Dallas Cowboys lose nothing by seeing this thing through.

Why the Dallas Cowboys must remain patient

For one thing, the Dallas Cowboys lose nothing by being patient and waiting for this situation to resolve. Gregory costs nothing while suspended and even if/when he’s reinstated he only costs Dallas a modest $1,045,000 (per Sportac).

Last seen, Gregory was a terror on the edge. He may have only had six sacks in his last season played, but he had 25 total pressures over 14 games splitting snaps with fellow defensive end Tyrone Crawford. That equates to 1.8 pressures per game as a part-time player. Blessed with arguably the best edge flex seen in Dallas since DeMarcus Ware, Gregory has the potential to build significantly on his 2018 season. And at just 27-years-old, it’s not unrealistic to think his best football is still ahead of him.

Another factor to consider is Gregory’s actual status. As Todd Archer reported, Gregory has not been denied by the league either, meaning we are still waiting and all reports indicating optimism or pessimism are premature.