The Dallas Cowboys have already shown a tremendous amount of faith in Randy Gregory. First when they decided to draft him in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft despite his well-documented drug problems, and then again standing by him throughout his suspensions. Dallas could’ve easily moved on and nobody would have criticized them for doing so.
Instead of casting Randy Gregory aside, the Cowboys decided to show a little faith in the young man in the hopes that he would be able to not only put his personal life in order, but also make a return to the field. Luckily, that faith is looking as if it could pay off.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably already know that earlier this week Randy Gregory was officially granted his reinstatement back into the NFL. That means he will be joining his teammates at training camp in a few days time, hopefully getting his football career back on track.
This has to feel like a huge accomplishment for not only Gregory, but for the Dallas Cowboys as well. It’s never easy to look in the mirror and know that you have to make some huge life changes, let alone doing what’s needed to make those changes. But, that’s what Randy Gregory has done and he owes a huge thanks to the Cowboys organization and his teammates.
True or not, but I’m not sure he would’ve been able to turn his life around if not for his teammates and the Dallas Cowboys organization. Accomplishing such a task on his own may have been an insurmountable obstacle to overcome, but the support system he had behind likely made a big difference in the outcome of his journey.
In fact, if not for a few of his teammates he may not have earned his reinstatement back into the league at all. Sean Lee, Tyrone Crawford, and Jeff Heath all personally took the time to write letters to the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, on Gregory’s behalf.
Randy Gregory's reinstatement included a number of powerful letters from teammates.
Here are the letters that Sean Lee, Tyrone Crawford, and Jeff Heath all wrote to the commissioner. pic.twitter.com/GchwKPigaO
— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) July 19, 2018
I encourage you to read each one of those letters because those are three well-respected leaders with the Cowboys and they know what getting Randy Gregory back on the field can do for him personally.
But, the question still remains…Will Randy Gregory reward the Cowboys faith in him?
Being a realist, I try to view the situation as it is. Gregory is on thin ice with the NFL and the slightest slip up would likely end any chance of a career in the league. For someone who has had so many slip-ups already, it’s hard to imagine him keeping his nose clean so to speak.
However, I think he can still succeed. He has a family now he has to play for and a different way of viewing things that could make all the difference. Plus, he also still has the support system in place that helped him get to this point in the first place.
So, I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that 2018 is just the beginning of Gregory’s long NFL career.
