As the media was standing around the tunnel at AT&T Stadium, collectively shrugging off a lackluster Cowboys loss to the Cardinals in preseason game three of this campaign, a weird mood began to weave its way through the group in the form of ominous whispers.
No one was saying it very loudly, but many were wondering if more trouble was ahead for defensive end Randy Gregory. Following a game in which he provided one of the few highlights for Dallas — a first-quarter sack of Arizona QB Sam Bradford — speculation surfaced that Gregory might have had a setback in his road back to the playing field in the regular season. The rumors were loud enough for Jerry Jones to address them.
“Well, let’s just put it like this: his deal is day-to-day,” Jones said. “Every day is another day there. Randy, he came into this league as an outstanding player – there’s no question about his talent. Having said that, we’ve just got to continue to work.”
Jones added that Gregory would not have played on Sunday if the team couldn't count on him to be in the lineup for the season opener.
Gregory missed most of the last two seasons for violations of the NFL's substance-abuse policy.
As of this morning, I'm not seeing the spark that ignited these rumors. The way Jones spoke of the situation seems to suggest that there was some kind of problem, but that it's minor.
We'll have more on this story as it becomes available.
