Randy Gregory, the talented and troubled defensive end, has reportedly met with Roger Goodell concerning a possible reinstatement for the 2018 season. While the decision won’t come immediately, Gregory already plans to get back into shape, writes Jori Epstein.
The Cowboys finish minicamp on Thursday before breaking until training camp in Oxnard, Calif. in late July. The Cowboys charter is scheduled to travel July 24 ahead of the team’s first practice July 26.
Gregory’s team hopes to hear a league decision as close to then as possible. He is set to begin workouts Wednesday with longtime Raiders defensive end Greg Townsend, the source said. The two-hour daily workouts with the All-Pro will continue through the summer with the goal of getting Gregory in football shape.
He already has a helmet and pads.
SportsDay detailed here the requirements Gregory must meet to be reinstatement according to the NFL policy on substance abuse. They include submitting information about his treatment and abstinence from substance abuse, as well as an interview with a medical advisor. Teammates including linebacker Sean Lee and defensive end Tyrone Crawford submitted letters supporting Gregory as part of the application.
Roger Goodell meets with Dallas Cowboys' Randy Gregory to discuss reinstatement - Charles Robinson, Yahoo Sports
Six straight months of daily passed drug tests, counseling, and two months of in-patient rehab has put Randy Gregory back within reach of the NFL. Robinson explains some of the documentation Gregory submitted to the NFL.
According to a league source briefed on the meeting with Goodell, Gregory’s reinstatement application included furnishing results from an intensively documented six-month rehabilitation regimen that would typically cost upward of $250,000. The source said Gregory’s documentation included daily drug testing, counseling and an intensive two-month inpatient treatment program that provided an initial push for Gregory’s trek back to the NFL.
“It’s been eight months getting to this point,” the source said of Gregory’s reinstatement application. “I think the light came on several months ago for Randy that this is it. This is probably his last chance to get this right.”
According to the source briefed on the application, Gregory’s representatives provided the NFL with “five to six boxes” of information and letters from counselors and others who have supported Gregory’s effort – most notably, six straight months of daily drug tests Gregory has passed dating back to December 2017. The presentation also included a plan outlining a structure that would keep Gregory on track if he were to be reinstated to the league, and the source added that he’s expected to begin football-specific training with former Oakland Raiders defensive end Greg Townsend in the coming weeks.
That said, the source who spoke with Yahoo Sports urged caution that the meeting with Goodell is more of a “first step” with the league that begins a process of reinstatement – and not necessarily a capping moment that ends the process.
“It’s in Roger’s hands and it could take some time,” the source said of the commissioner. “Having Randy back with [the Cowboys] for training camp would be a great thing, but there’s really no timetable. That’s up to Roger.”
These are the requirements DE Randy Gregory must meet to be reinstated into NFL - Kate Hairopoulos and Jori Epstein, SportsDay
This is a reminder of the time frame for Gregory’s reinstatement. Gregory submitted his application in the third week of May in the hope that his suspension could be lifted in time for training camp end July.
Once the application has been received by Commissioner Roger Goodell, Gregory will be interviewed by the established medical director and medical advisor within 45 days. Then a recommendation will be made to Goodell.
The policy is set up for Goodell to render a decision within 60 days of receiving an application, but that is based on all the required information being available in that time frame.
Marinelli on if DL Randy Gregory wins reinstatement. (He's in New York today meeting w/ NFL): 1st with him, get him in a stance & get him going. He's been off a long time. He's talented, no question, & he's a great guy. And smart. No. 1 thing we've got to do is groove him back in
— Kate Hairopoulos (@khairopoulos) June 12, 2018
Defense Has The Upper Hand On Minicamp Day 1 - Bryan Broaddus, DallasCowboys.com
Now that OTA’s are over, the Cowboys progress to the mandatory minicamp portion of the offseason. In the first day, the defense was most impressive, writes Bryan Broaddus.
Smart play by the rookie Dorance Armstrong, who stayed at home on the waggle by Cooper Rush. Armstrong’s discipline forced Rush to throw the ball wide to Blake Jarwin. Damien Wilson wasn’t fooled on the play either and was right there in tight coverage on Jarwin. Rush had nowhere to throw the ball.
I saw a really nice recovery by Joe Thomas today, as he rallied to carry Allen Hurns from his linebacker spot. It appeared that Hurns was wide open when he broke to the inside, then back out. Thomas had to hustle covering ground to prevent Cooper Rush from getting Hurns the ball. Rush was forced to check the ball down to Jamize Olawale instead of hitting Hurns for a big gain.
5 takeaways from Day 1 of Dallas Cowboys' minicamp - Drew Davison, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Dallas Cowboys held their first minicamp practice on Tuesday, and Davison shares his top takeaways, one of which is about the secondary.
DBs shine.
The Cowboys’ secondary made a few of the highlight-reel plays.
Anthony Brown had a would-be sack on quarterback Dak Prescott in team drills, coming free on a nickel blitz.
In seven-on-seven drills, safety-turned-cornerback Byron Jones had a nice breakup on a pass from Prescott intended for Hurns.
Cowboys Minicamp: All the sights and sounds from the first day of minicamp - Michael Sismore, Blogging The Boys
Sisemore recaps the social media reaction to day one of minicamp, including this overview of the day's first-team personnel.
The first day of minicamp practice is over. This is what the first-team offense and defense looked like #cowboyswire pic.twitter.com/NdYO5Zpebt
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) June 12, 2018
David Irving glad to be at minicamp; teammates want commitment - Todd Archer, ESPN
Much has been made of David Irving’s issues, both on and off the field, and while he’s getting more involved in team activities, other players, including Sean Lee, aren’t satisfied yet.
“It’s good to have him here. He needs to be here working,” linebacker Sean Lee said. “The more he’s here, the better it is for us, shared sacrifice, all of us working together as a team is a big deal for all of us. He needs to be here on a more consistent basis. He needs to be working more with us.”
Lee said he had that conversation with Irving, who missed eight games last season (four because of a suspension, four because of a concussion) but still had seven sacks, and other team leaders had similar talks with him. The Cowboys placed the second-round tender on him as a restricted free agent and have not discussed a long-term contract.
Zack Martin, set to be highest-paid guard, rejoins Cowboys - Schuyler Dixon, STL Post-Dispatch
News broke Monday that Zack Martin was in the final stages of agreeing to a contract extension that would make him the highest-paid guard in the NFL, and that meant Martin rejoined the team for mandatory minicamp.
“Right now, until the pen actually gets on paper, I’m going to be smart about it and just do individual work and some conditioning so I don’t do something stupid,” Martin said. “Two more days, so we’ll see what they want to do, if we just want to play it smart.”
Martin said he wasn’t sure if he would have attended the first mandatory practice without the progress in negotiations. With the agreement close, he said it was an easy decision.
During the voluntary portion of the offseason, Martin said he worked out by himself while players were in meetings. Before practice started each day, he went home, where he “kind of got a little stir crazy.”
Jaylon Smith in 'race to 100 percent' without brace - Todd Archer, ESPN
The linebacker is moving more freely without the "annoying" device on his foot, and he was impressive during OTAs.
He went through nine organized team activities without the brace. He will go through three days of the mandatory minicamp that starts Tuesday without one. The plan is to go without it during training camp and the season.
“That’s just something that’s all about God’s time,” Smith said. “It’s going to continue to get better. That race to 100 percent, it’s out of my hand. It’s out of everyone’s hands. We’re just going to continue to ride and I’m excited about it.”
“I think maybe more than anything else, I think he’s moving more spontaneously now,” coach Jason Garrett said. “You see him maybe get in a compromising position and react his way out of it physically, maybe better than he had before.
"That’s not unique to him. Typically, when guys are coming back from injuries, that’s the final step for them to get back to where they are. Because you get in a lot of different positions when you’re playing football. You’re going against guys. You’re trying to get off of blocks. You have to adjust, redirect. When you’re healthy and ready to go, those things come more naturally. I think you’re seeing a lot more of that from him.”
DT Jihad Ward could make Dallas look brilliant - Reid Hanson, Fansided
Many expected Dallas to draft a defensive tackle at some point in the draft, but instead they traded WR Ryan Switzer for Jihad Ward. So far, Ward’s performance in practices is making that trade look very, very good.
Ward has been explosive in camp. He looks like the player that once warranted a Day 2 selection and not the colossal bust that has previously been residing on the east side of the Bay. This recent play has caused many of us to look back at his draft profile, because at the age of only 24, Ward’s professional story has yet to be written.
Roger Staubach was the first Cowboys quarterback to deliver a Super Bowl to the fans, and even though he predated Jerry Jones’ tenure as the owner and the ensuing changes, Staubach has remained true to blue.
I’m a Dallas Cowboy. That’s the only team I played for. They were great to me and I wasn’t going to--you know Jerry [Jones] also-- I think he got hammered for some things.
He liked coach Landry. He wanted, I think, to do the right thing. To let coach know ‘Hey, I’m going to start over with somebody else.’ But the way that was handled, I think he was set up a little bit on what took place and people turned on him.
But again I said I’m going to support the Dallas Cowboys, it’s the team I played for and it’s still Tom Landry’s team. And, you know, when Jerry talked to me about coach Landry going into the Ring of Honor, because coach had a hard time with that. But then all of a sudden he did realize.
Much of the dialogue surrounding Rico Gathers lately has been negative, as the athletic freak is still learning how to play a sport he hasn’t played in since middle school. But after putting on some weight, Gathers is hoping it’ll all pay off.
“Last year was a big adjustment,” Gathers said, via the Dallas Morning News. “I was going for more trying to be quicker, trying to be faster. But that hurt me in the blocking game a lot where I felt like I was just a body, just a body catching a blow.”
“Now coming off, I’m delivering the blow,” Gathers said. “I’m delivering the shot.”
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett seems to like what he sees from Gathers during offseason practices.
“He’s a different player now than he was a couple of years ago when he first showed up,” Garrett said. “But he just needs to play more football.”
What Cole Beasley just said should thrill fans! - Steven Mullenax, The Landry Hat
A lot has been written about what new wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal can bring to the Cowboys’ offense, but Cole Beasley offered praises for the new position coach while also maybe taking a shot at his former position coach.
“It feels like the first time we’re actually being taught how to run routes instead of just naturally doing,” said Beasley about Lal. That according to Dallas Morning News digital sports producer Jori Epstein. “When you get to [the] NFL and you’re supposed to know, stuff is assumed. Lal narrows down step-by-step, doesn’t assume anything from basics.”
Beasley also revealed that as a result of Lal’s teaching process and a new focus on the fundamentals of the position, he’s expanding his route tree. The primary slot receiver is now using his blazing 4.49 speed on more outside routes. And that should go a long way in opening up his core game this season.
“This is the most open it’s been since I’ve been here,” Beasley continued.
Just went from 100 degrees outside to a brisk 72 because of all this shade. https://t.co/jYzSy2FUT5
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) June 12, 2018
From the FanPosts
Our FanPost section is where Blogging The Boys members have the opportunity to write their own posts about the Cowboys. Take a little time to write a post about your thoughts regarding the Dallas Cowboys, and there’s a chance it will be linked right here in our morning News roundup.
Expectations Too High But Also Too Low - OptimisticRealist, Blogging the Boys FanPost
Over the offseason, the Cowboys added a lot of different players that could potentially fill new roles on both offense and defense. Some of them were players with high draft pedigrees who haven’t quite lived up to the hype. While some people are assuming these additions will be key contributors, OptimisticRealist isn’t sold on that idea.
To wrap up, it appears many assume the front office brings in these guys thinking they are what they were drafted to be. If that were the case, they’d have given up more than a 6th for Austin and more than Switzer for Ward. Ealy would also have a bigger contract.
In actuality, I think they are bringing in these guys to upgrade the bottom of the roster. Austin is better than Switzer, Ealy is better than Mayowa and Ward is better than Tapper. Judge them on what we gave for them, not what we thought they were 2-5 years ago. Judge them on what they were really brought here to do, not what they were drafted to do years ago. If we do this, I think it’s easy see the logic behind the moves