Cowboys News: Randy Gregory Placed on IR With Calf Injury; Will Miss at Least 3 Games

The Dallas Cowboys have placed defensive end Randy Gregory on injured reserve with a calf injury, the team announced Thursday. 

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters that Gregory suffered the injury during the one-on-one portion of Wednesday's practice. He will miss at least the next three games. 

Gregory will miss games against the Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders. 

"You always feel terrible for the individual," Mike McCarthy said of Gregory's injury. "… He was one of our best players on defense. Our defensive players feed off of his activity."

The 28-year-old's injury is a tough blow to the Dallas defense, which is already without DeMarcus Lawrence, Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore due to injury. Gregory has been impressive this season, recording five sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, 10 tackles, three tackles for a loss and 12 quarterback hits. 

McCarthy said the Cowboys "feel good" about their plan with Gregory sidelined. However, he wouldn't get into specifics. Tarell Basham, Dorance Armstrong and Chauncey Golston could fill in for Gregory, as could rookie Micah Parsons.

The Cowboys envisioned playing Gregory and Lawrence simultaneously at the ends, but that won't happen until at least December now. 

Selected in the second round of the 2015 draft, Gregory has never played a full NFL season because of injuries and suspensions related to violating the league's policy on substances of abuse. 

While the Cowboys defense has struggled this season, quarterback Dak Prescott has the offense firing on all cylinders, which is a big reason why Dallas is 6-2. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn even admitted earlier this week the team has a lot to figure out on defense, saying after a 30-16 loss to the Denver Broncos, "You guys saw the performance [Sunday]... like we got some s--t to fix." 

Quinn will now face an even bigger challenge with Gregory sidelined.