Randy Gregory Suspended 1 Year by NFL for Substance Abuse Violation

Randy Gregory's season is over after two games. The NFL announced Thursday the Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman is suspended without pay for "at least one year" for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Nick Eatman of the Cowboys' official website passed along the news, noting Gregory is ineligible for the team's playoff run. The team announced guard La'el Collins would take Gregory's spot on the roster. 

Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network provided the official statement:

Gregory can apply for reinstatement on Nov. 6, 2017, 60 days prior to the one-year anniversary of his suspension, per Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

In September, Gregory accepted his 10-game suspension for a substance abuse violation, which was tacked onto a four-game suspension he had already started serving.

The 24-year-old made his 2016 debut during Dallas' 42-21 victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 16, finishing the year with nine combined tackles and one sack in two games.

Gregory played despite having failed another drug test, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo (via NFL.com's Jeremy Bergman). On New Year's Day, he said he wasn't going to let the uncertainty over his future affect his preparation or mindset, per the Star-Telegram's Drew Davison.

"I'm not really focused on all of that [off-field stuff]," Gregory said. "As far as I know, I can't really do anything else to help my cause or hurt my cause. So everyone else that's dealing with the situation I'll let it play out on its own. I'll handle the things I can control, which is going out there and making plays."

As Fox Sports 1's Skip Bayless tweeted, though, the specter of a possible suspension loomed no matter what approach Gregory chose to take:

The Cowboys clinched the top seed in the NFC despite Gregory missing 14 games, so it would be an overreaction to say his suspension torpedoes their quest for their first Super Bowl title since 1995.

Having Gregory would've been a nice luxury, though. Dallas ranked 13th in team sacks (36), and Football Outsiders listed their defensive line 12th in adjusted sack rate.

On its road to Super Bowl LI, the team would potentially face some combination of Aaron Rodgers, Matt Stafford, Russell Wilson, Eli Manning and Matt Ryan. Their ability to pressure the quarterback will almost certainly be a huge factor in whether the Cowboys advance to Houston.

In the Super Bowl, Dallas could potentially face off against the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots or Ben Roethlisberger-led Pittsburgh Steelers.

Gregory could have been a big X-factor for the Cowboys in the playoffs.

More importantly for Gregory, he's looking at another year out of football after missing nearly all of 2016.

He showed his potential in Weeks 16 and 17 and could've been poised for a breakout 2017. Instead, he'll be a spectator for his third season. That provides him with a major roadblock as he looks to get his NFL career back on track.