Randy Gregory's Appeal of 10-Game Suspension Dropped by NFLPA

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory's appeal of his 10-game suspension for a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy was dropped on Monday by the NFL Players Association.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters on Tuesday that the NFLPA made the call to drop the appeal after ESPN's Adam Schefter and Todd Archer first reported the news.

On Tuesday, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reported that the NFLPA could have negotiated a lesser suspension for Gregory:

In February, the league suspended Gregory for the first four games of the 2016 season. In July, he violated the substance abuse policy again, opening the door for an even stiffer punishment.

The Star-Telegram's Clarence E. Hill Jr. initially reported that Gregory had won his appeal, thus dropping his suspension to four games. Hill clarified on Sept. 4, however, that Gregory still faced a 10-game ban on top of the four weeks he was set to miss.

Hill also reported that Gregory had violated the drug policy on five occasions:

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Gregory has had four policy violations and/or failed four tests since February 2015. The first one was at the NFL Scouting Combine, which landed him in the substance abuse program. A second resulted in a two-game fine. A third one resulted in a four-game fine and the fourth one left him with a four-game suspension.

A source said Gregory ran afoul of the program a fifth time, thus triggering an additional 10-game suspension.

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In July, the Cowboys announced that Gregory checked into a treatment facility. In a Sept. 13 interview with 105.3 FM The Fan (via David Helman of the Cowboys' official site), Jones confirmed that Gregory was out of rehab and back with the team.

Jones added that Gregory's rehabilitation outside of the treatment facility would be ongoing: "It gets pretty personal when it gets into medical—but I will say this: He has not completed his rehab. He will have rehab for a long time. It's arguable he may always rehab."

Gregory was widely considered to be among the best pass-rushers available in the 2015 draft until his stock dropped shortly before draft day. In March 2015, he failed a drug test at the combine. On April 29, 2015, Ian Rapoport and Albert Breer reported for NFL.com that "there is concern about Gregory's ability to handle the mental rigors of professional football" among members of some front offices.

The Cowboys selected Gregory with the 60th overall pick in the 2015 draft. A high ankle sprain limited him to 12 games last year, and he recorded 11 combined tackles.