The never-ending cycle of Dallas Cowboys news continued Tuesday with the latest development in the Randy Gregory saga. It was reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that Gregory would be suspended indefinitely due to violating the Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.
The uncertain future for Gregory leaves Dallas without their second most productive pass rusher behind pending free agent DeMarcus Lawrence. Gregory put together his best season in 2018 with six sacks which was behind only Lawrence’s 10.5 QB takedowns. It is unfortunate for Gregory that he now doesn’t know the next time he will suit up for a game, but the NFL is a business and now Jerry Jones and company must look at how they will fill the void.
The Cowboys have Tyrone Crawford, Dorrance Armstrong and Taco Charlton on the roster, but the latter two haven’t proven to be huge contributors just yet with Armstrong just off his rookie campaign and Charlton proving to be something of a disappointment after his second season. Both are young and need time to develop accordingly, however with this latest blow to the depth on the defensive line for the Cowboys, that development needs to be sped up a bit.
Charlton was selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, so it should be expected that he provides more than what the Cowboys have seen up to this point. Armstrong was a mid-round selection and recorded half a sack in 2018. The Cowboys like both to varying degrees but each youngster will need to step up their game in the absence of Gregory.
Without a first-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, the Cowboys will be under pressure for find a pass rusher who can compliment Lawrence. The thought would be to sign a free agent due to the fact that they likely won’t find a day one impact starter at defensive end in the second round.
That isn’t to say that it can’t be done as the Cowboys found Tank Lawrence in the second round back in the 2014 draft. The likeliness of a repeat goes down significantly the further you go in the draft, however, and the impact of second round rushers aren’t usually felt prominently in their first season. After all, Lawrence himself produced zero sacks and just two tackles for loss in his rookie campaign.
The Cowboys haven’t been big spenders in free agency so they probably won’t look to drop much cash on the big name guys on the open market. This appears especially true while they are trying to work out long-term deals for Lawrence, Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper and others.
The more likely outcome would involve Dallas drafting a defensive end starting on day two of the draft and hoping that they can develop him over time while their young players at the position on the roster are counted on to take a step forward.
With needs all over the place, it seems like more questions than answers at this point. There are plenty of talented prospects in this class, so what Dallas does, or doesn’t do, in free agency would be more telling than trying to figure out where they are leaning just yet come April.
Do you think that the Cowboys will need to address defensive end in the upcoming draft after the Randy Gregory news? Share your take on the latest development with Patrick on Twitter @DraftCowboys.
