Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says 'no question' DE Randy Gregory needs treatment after another failed test
By Eddie Sefko
FRISCO -- Cowboys owner and general manager said Wednesday morning that the team has not heard from the NFL about an increased suspension for troubled defensive end Randy Gregory.
At a ceremony christening the Omni Frisco Hotel attached to the new Cowboys' training facility, Jones said Gregory is getting care for his addiction. On Tuesday, multiple sources said Gregory had failed a banned-substance test for a fourth time while a member of the Cowboys and could be facing a longer suspension.
"He is having care right as we speak," Jones said following the open-air ceremony on what eventually will be the pool deck of the hotel. "We're well aware of that. It's very disappointing, but again, it does point out the difficulty you have with addiction. There's no question that he needs the kind of help and care he's getting right now.
Asked whether the league has alerted the Cowboys of a pending longer suspension, Jones said: "I don't have that or an expectation at this particular time. We're basically seeing where he is. We have no official notification from the league. From the standpoint of our team and from the standpoint of his well being we are first and foremost interested in how he can address his addiction and get to where he can function in society first and look to be a football player second.
"We haven't gotten word from the league that he has anything other than a four-game suspension."
While the NFL has the latitude to add another 10 games on top of Gregory's current four-game suspension, that won't necessarily happen. The reason: the purpose of the program is to rehabilitate, not punish. If there are indications that Gregory, despite his struggles, is seriously addressing his addiction, adding 6 games to bring the suspension to 10 is more likely.
Either way, it's another sad chapter for Gregory, whose draft stock in 2015 fell from a certain first-round pick to the No. 60 overall pick in the second round because of the red flags that followed him out of Nebraska.
"We drafted him right where we should have him," Jones said. "He fell from the very top of the board to the second round and you can take risks there where we got him. We do that with injury and other issues. And the idea at that level if you have one that has the high talent grade at that level, those are the risks involved. You're not buying bonds here."
That said, the Cowboys have been considering contingency plans at defensive end because of Gregory's situation.
They have not publicized any potential free-agent targets but Stephen Jones said that the team will be active in its search for help.
"We've obviously been very aware that he's been suspended for four games, so we obviously accounted for that," Stephen Jones said. "Player acquisition is a 365 days out of the year (proposition). We'll always look to get better. When we get in camp, and we see opportunities that we can improve our football team, we'll certainly do that.j