OXNARD, Calif. – The Cowboys designated several players on various lists Friday, the day before the first training camp practice, but the two garnering the most headlines are of course, Randy Gregory and Rolando McClain.
Both players were placed on Reserved/Did Not Report, which creates a couple of roster spots on the 90-man limit.
Gregory, who is currently in a drug rehabilitation center, will not only serve a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy but could face a longer suspension this year if he indeed violated more of the league's polices.
As for McClain, who did not travel with the team to Oxnard on Thursday and did not report Friday, he's serving a 10-game suspension for also violating the NFL's substance abuse program.
Jerry Jones said there were too many "moving parts" and "nuances" to discuss the possibility of outright releasing McClain, but clearly that seemed to be an option. Earlier in the team's Friday press conference, neither Jerry nor Stephen Jones answered the question if they anticipated either player returning after their suspensions are served.
"We're just going to deal with the situations as they are right now," Stephen Jones said. "That's really all we can control. We won't get into all of that."
McClain missed the first four games of last year with a similar suspension. He was the first player the Cowboys re-signed in the offseason when the unrestricted free agent period began in March. Some of the "moving parts" the Cowboys are trying to determine with the NFL is the guaranteed money the linebacker is owed and how the suspension, coupled with McClain's lack of appeal would affect the salary cap situation.
With the open roster spots, the Cowboys are already looking to fill the voids with a workout of free-agent players Saturday morning. Stephen Jones said there will be a linebacker among the group with McClain being out and Damien Wilson missing a couple of weeks with an eye injury.
