Report: Randy Gregory suffered substance abuse relapse in August

Title/Alt Text — (Photo: Jake Roth, USA TODAY Sports)

Randy Gregory suffered a substance abuse relapse in August according to Adam Schefter of ESPN on NFL Live (h/t John Owning of The Dallas Morning News), and the NFL is expected to render a ruling on the incident as early as next week. Another suspension would be a devastating blow to Gregory, who had an excellent preseason and looked to be a major factor in the Dallas defensive line this season. The incredibly-talented Gregory missed the entire 2017 season due to suspension, and another incident would be a major blow to his future career prospects.

Gregory was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft, but has played in only 14 total games since then. Most of those games came in his 2015 rookie season, and he has played in only two games over the past two seasons. He has only one career sack, earned in the 2016 finale, but he is one of the most physically gifted linemen in all of football. Had he not come into the league with such severe off-field concerns, he likely would have been a top-ten pick.

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That is what made the Cowboys so willing to wait for him. They have taken similar risks, albeit for very different reasons, on other players. The Cowboys selected Jaylon Smith in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft knowing that he wouldn't be able to play as a rookie and that it would take even longer for him to fully recover from the knee injury that ended his college career. Gregory was dangerous for different reasons, but it follows a similar pattern of the Cowboys adding players with talent knowing that such talent is only available to them due to the risks that came with it.

The bet that the Cowboys made on Gregory was supposed to pay off this season. Based on his preseason play, it seemed like he was destined to start alongside Defensive Player of the Year candidate DeMarcus Lawrence and form one of the NFL's most dominating pass-rushing duos. With Taco Charlton, Tyrone Crawford, Dorrance Armstrong and David Irving joining them in the pass-rushing unit, the Cowboys could have made life very difficult for opposing quarterbacks. Now, that blueprint is in serious danger.

It is unclear what exactly the nature of this relapse was, but after already being suspended for a year, he was subject to a very intense regimen of drug tests. If he did relapse, the NFL would know about it almost immediately. Though Cowboys fans can hold out hope that this is just a minor setback, their opener against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday could easily be the last time they see Gregory for quite awhile.

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