From Mike Fisher
Randy Gregory’s representatives “worked into the weekend,†I’m told, to finalize the suspended Dallas Cowboys player’s bid for NFL reinstatement, with Tuesday as the target date.
They “hope for some good news to give,†one source says, all as a result of two years of passing drug tests and what I’m told is a 2,000-page presentation featuring those test results plus testimony from prominent Dallas Cowboys teammates, industry powerhouses, civic leaders and influential celebrities.
Among those names: Hall-of-Fame receiver Cris Carter, who overcame drug addiction early in his career to eventually become a role model for those with similar struggles -- seemingly including Gregory.
“I have been associated with (Gregory),†Carter says (via his FOX Sports show). “I have been in contact with him over his journey. And I have recently written a letter to the NFL on his behalf, hoping for his reinstatement.â€
In addition to the tests and the testimony, the calendar now matters more than ever -- thus the “work into the weekend.†NFL rules call for the commissioner to hand down a judgment within 60 days of receiving an application for reinstatement.
Sources tell me the first goal was to assemble all t
he testimony (again, not just from assorted teammates like Tyrone Crawford, Sean Lee and Jeff Heath, as has been widely reported, but also from circles of influence that go far beyond the Dallas locker room, and far beyond Carter, too) and to submit it by May 1. The sheer volume of information made that target unreachable.
But the 60-day clock is about to start ticking in this sense: I’m told the Cowboys are scheduled to report to training camp in Oxnard on Wednesday, July 25. That is 71 days out from Tuesday ... meaning no more than an 11-day window between now and the start of the 60-day period.
There is the urgency.
“I have been proud of Randy during this offseason,†Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says. “I’m very aware of how hard he’s working to get back in the league and get back on the field. We know that his talent level.''
“I don’t want to be presumptuous in any way whether or not he’s going to qualify to be reinstated,'' Jones says, and that is wise. But it is not “presumptuous†to recognize that Dallas is well aware of the calendar. Nor is it “presumptuous†to report on how many those with knowledge of
Gregory’s situation -- the former second-round pick hasn’t played since the regular-season finale in 2016, and the league suspended the pass-rusher on January 6, 2017, for at least a year for violating its substance abuse policy -- share his camp’s optimism.
Adds coach Jason Garret: “We’ll go through the process. Any way we can help to support him, we’ll certainly embrace that opportunity. He’s someone that has worked very hard at this and we’re excited about his future.â€
It is the plan of the Gregory camp for that "future'' to begin Tuesday ... and for some “good news†to come in the 60 days thereafter.
.......sorry for the tracking encryption BS,, hate that stuff......
