Cowboys’ Gregory reinstated by league
Rams sign wide receiver Cooks to 5-year contract
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory, who was suspended all of last season over multiple violations of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, was reinstated Tuesday.
Gregory can join the Cowboys at training camp in California next week and will be eligible for games as long as he continues to meet the terms of his reinstatement, the league said. The team reports to Oxnard on July 24, two days before its first practice.
The NFL said Gregory was immediately eligible for meetings, conditioning work and “similar activities” and would be cleared for practices and games once “arrangements have been confirmed regarding Gregory’s clinical resources in Dallas.”
The 25-year-old Gregory last played in the 2016 regular-season finale, when the former Nebraska standout had his first career sack at the end of his second season. He was suspended before Dallas’ playoff loss to Green Bay, his third suspension of the season.
Gregory slid to the Cowboys at the end of the second round in 2015 because of off-field concerns that included a positive test for marijuana at the NFL combine.
The Cowboys have backed Gregory’s attempt to return to the field, with several teammates writing letters of recommendation to the NFL as part of the process of him applying for reinstatement.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones, whose recent second-round gambles in the draft haven’t paid off, has praised Gregory’s character repeatedly during the pass rusher’s absence. Rams extend Cooks: The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to a five-year extension with wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
The Rams traded their first- and sixth-round picks in the 2018 draft to the New England Patriots for Cooks and a fourth-round pick earlier this year.
Before joining the Rams, Cooks played in 58 regular-season games with 46 starts, and had at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past three seasons.
The fifth-year pro has 280 receptions for 3,943 yards and 27 touchdowns, and averages 14.1 yards per reception. He had nine 100-plus yard receiving games in 2016 with the New Orleans Saints.
“Brandin Cooks has shown himself to be a class act on and off the field since the first day he joined our team,” Rams coach Sean McVay said in a statement. “He’s a proven professional in this league, and signing him to a long-term contract was always our goal. We’re excited to keep Brandin in a Rams uniform through 2023.” Former Colts draft pick dies: Tom Stephens, an original member of the Patriots and a two-way player, has died at 82.
According to a funeral announcement, he died at his home last week in Naples, Florida. No cause was given.
Stephens was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1959. He signed with the Boston Patriots for their inaugural season in 1960 and played five seasons until 1964, appearing in 49 games as a tight end and defensive back.