Cowboys news: Stephen Jones says the team hasn’t heard of any issues with Randy Gregory

“There could be more trouble ahead” regarding Cowboys Randy Gregory - RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys
Jason La Canfora sent Cowboys Nation into a tizzy with a vague, unattributed tweet suggesting Randy Gregory's return to the NFL could be short-lived.

Ochoa has the details.

Jason La Canfora tweeted that “there could be more trouble ahead” regarding Randy Gregory, and obviously that’s a big thing to say. Gregory is a player who literally just got back into the good graces of the NFL after missing over a year, and he played marvelously on Sunday night. Any kind of trouble would be bad.

Predictably Jerry Jones was flooded with questions regarding his status when he met with the local media following the game. Also, predictably, he assured the world that he expects Gregory will be playing for the Cowboys come Week 1 on the road against the Carolina Panthers.

Stephen Jones: We don’t know of any new trouble for Randy Gregory – Josh Alper, ProFootballTalk
Stephen Jones spoke on the report Monday.

Jones also said that they will take things day by day, which might have been a reference to a Sunday night report from Jason LaCanfora of more trouble ahead for a player coming off a year-long suspension.

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones addressed that report during a Monday appearance on 105.3 The Fan as well.

“We just don’t know,” Jones said. “With what Randy’s been through, it’s a challenge for him every day. As for where he is with the league, we won’t hear till it’s time. We don’t hear until it’s unfortunately not good news. We don’t know of anything right now.”

There’s no specific information reported about Gregory running afoul of the league’s drug policy again. If he did, he would be eligible for another lengthy suspension.

Fair or not, this is the new reality Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory finds himself in - David Moore, SportsDay
Moore points out that accusations and suspicion is now a reality for both Randy Gregory and Cowboys’ fans.

That pressure is greater than anything Gregory faces on the field.

Why bring this up now? All it took was a tweet from an NFL reporter during Sunday night’s game to remind everyone of this fragile alliance. The message: “Hearing there could be more trouble ahead for Randy Gregory’’

No sources. No specifics.

Hearsay isn’t inaccurate by definition. But that and innuendo should be greeted with skepticism or at least a careful review before being accepted.

It doesn’t work that way for people in recovery. Accusations immediately set off alarms. The mind jumps to the worst-case scenario.

Fair? Not at all. It’s one of many emotional factors that make recovery so difficult, the idea that the individual is being held to a harsher standard than those around them.

Silver Linings From Sunday Night - Bryan Broaddus, DallasCowboys.com
The broad one went through the tape from Sunday’s defeat and found some things to like.

Marqueston Huff is in a battle with Tyree Robinson and Kam Kelly for a roster spot at safety, and he didn’t help himself with some poor angles to the ball and missed tackles in space. His most glaring problem was on the 59-yard touchdown down run by T.J. Logan where he misread Logan’s cut, which put him in a position where he was forced to arm tackle instead wrapping up.

The guy that showed up on tape the most for the linebackers was Justin March-Lillard. I had him as a potential bubble player, but he played with some pop in his game -- especially at the point of attack. He was also where he needed to be in the passing game. March-Lillard is not the biggest of the linebackers, but how he carried himself working with the first team made me rethink his position.

NFC preseason grades: Adrian Peterson’s rebirth, Nick Foles’ rot - Bucky Brooks, NFL.com
Like most of us, the NFL.com analyst liked what he saw from the Cowboys’ Randy Gregory Sunday night.

Dallas Cowboys: Randy Gregory, DE. The Cowboys could be rewarded for their patience with Gregory, based on his sensational play against the Cardinals. The long, rangy pass rusher flashed disruptive potential off the edge in a three-tackle effort that included a sack. Gregory’s speed, quickness and burst are problematic for offensive tackles, particularly when he uses an upfield speed rush to set up a spin-move counter to the inside. If he can stay the course and avoid the off-field problems that have derailed his career at times, Gregory could be another difference maker on a defensive line that features a few young, athletic playmakers at the point of attack. Grade: A-

Cowboys offer home fans a refusal of dress rehearsal – Bob Sturm, The Athletic
Questions are being raised about struggling Cooper Rush’s ability to adequately man the quarterback position should Dak Prescott miss any significant time.

How much trouble is Dallas in if Rush needs to be your QB for a month in the event Prescott is hurt? I would argue that Rush is unlikely to accomplish anything as a backup QB. He inspires very little confidence, and while I realize he put up some numbers last year, I believe most of that was when the Cowboys “3’s” were playing the opponent’s “3’s” last preseason. The goal – and the reason teams have veteran backups like Josh McCown or Colt McCoy hanging around is the belief that maybe they can go 2-2 in a month without the QB1. I don’t think Rush can do that, so after watching him in camp this year and in these preseason games, I wish the Cowboys had a one-year bridge in camp to allow White his redshirt year and didn’t have so much invested in Rush. But, alas, they are counting on him to play an important role and that is quite disconcerting to me.

Oakland Raiders trading Ryan Switzer to Steelers - NFL.com
Former Dallas Cowboys' receiver Ryan Switzer's nomadic journey through the NFL continued Monday when he was traded by Oakland to the Pittsburgh Steelers, his third team in less than four months.

Switzer's time as a Raider comes to an end after four months in Silver and Black. Drafted by Dallas in the fourth round in 2017, Switzer was shipped west by the Cowboys after they retooled their receiver room with the additions of Tavon Austin, Allen Hurns and rookie Michael Gallup.

Something similar happened to Switzer in Oakland, with the Raiders trading for deep threat Martavis Bryant and signing veteran Jordy Nelson, though it was fairly clear Switzer's primary role would come on special teams.

He still had a shot to carve out a role as a returner for the Raiders, but returned just three punts in three preseason games for a total of two yards and two fair catches. Fellow offseason addition Griff Whalen had a stronger showing during the preseason, leaving Switzer as the odd man out.

Predicting the NFL’s Passing, Receiving, and Rushing Leaders in 2018 - Danny Kelly, The Ringer
Kelly takes on the hopeless task of predicting which player will lead the league in each statistical category. One (predictable) Cowboy name made the list.

The Cowboys’ offensive line has a few question marks heading into the season—All-Pro guard Zack Martin has a knee injury, All-Pro center Travis Frederick was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and both La’el Collins and Tyron Smith have been banged up in camp—but that won’t stop the Cowboys from making the ground game as the focal point in that offense. Elliott, who led the NFL in rushing in 2016 and averaged an NFL-best 98.3 yards per game last year (he missed six games to suspension), might not end up being the most efficient runner this year, but he’s talented enough to turn all that volume into league-leading yardage.

Realistic Best-Case Scenario for Every NFL Team This Season - Maurice Moton, Bleacher Report
Moton writes that the best case for the 2018 Cowboys is for Dak Prescott to thrive with his new receiving options.

Now, quarterback Dak Prescott must thrive with new pass-catchers rather than lean on familiar veterans who delivered on a high level year after year. Despite Bryant's drop-off in production, he led the team in receiving yards (838) and touchdowns (six) last season. Rookie third-rounder Michael Gallup and Allen Hurns will join Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley in filling the void.

Running back Ezekiel Elliott will probably serve as the engine for this offense behind a top-notch offensive line. Nonetheless, Prescott has to show that he's capable of moving the ball through the air to keep extra defenders out of the box to clear room for the All-Pro ball-carrier.

If that happens, the Cowboys would have a unit capable of winning games when the defense struggles against top offenses.