ARLINGTON, Texas – After missing 14 games this season, Randy Gregory wasted no time making an impact when he finally made his 2016 debut.
The defensive end had a tackle on his first snap of the game and season, and found himself playing a lot more than he expected.
Usually, the Cowboys have a seven- or eight-man rotation but with so many injuries before the game, and then two more during, Gregory was one of five defensive linemen finishing the game.
Still, his conditioning wasn't as bad as he anticipated.
"I actually wasn't as gassed as I thought I'd be," Gregory said after the game. "I hurt my oblique early in the first quarter and was working through that. But my energy was fine."
[embeddedad0]Gregory has served a combined 14-game suspension from the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy. While he has been able to work on his conditioning at the Cowboys' headquarters in Frisco, he didn't start practicing until this past week.
"It was fun to get out with my teammates and playing in the stadium," he said. "Being able to join in on this run was real special. And I hope I can continue that."
The Cowboys obviously hope for the same, but owner Jerry Jones said after the game Monday that he's not sure if Gregory will able to play in the postseason, but didn't elaborate much after that.
"I just don't want to speculate," Jones said on Gregory. "I'm just saying as excited as I am about Gregory, I want to temper it a little bit. But it was great to see him out there."
Gregory's official stat line after the game was two tackles and a quarterback hit.
Jones did say he expects Gregory to play in next week's season finale in Philadelphia.
