Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory has been suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, but head coach Jason Garrett believes he’s seen signs of maturity from the second-year pass rusher this offseason.
“Just in everything he does—how he handles himself in meetings, in the walk-through, in the offseason program, on the practice field,” Garrett said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Again, it’s a work in progress. He has gotten better. But he has a long way to go. A lot of guys have a long way to go.”
For now, Gregory’s suspension isn’t affecting his workload. In OTAs, he’s been working at right end with the first unit on defense, where he figures to be starting beginning in Week 5 of next year, and Garrett’s treating him more or less like any other second-year player.
“You treat him like he is going to be part of our football team, certainly at this stage,” Garrett said. “… You just get him to work. He will get plenty of work over the course of this offseason, and over the course of training camp and prior to the start of the regular season, when he is going to be gone for four weeks. So get him in there, get a good base underneath him, teach him technique, teach him the schemes we are using, and hopefully he grows every day.”
