Report: Cowboys DE Randy Gregory to undergo knee surgery

The Dallas Cowboys' season ended in dramatic fashion in the NFC wild-card round last weekend. Now, they face an offseason with a bevy of questions, possibly among them, whether Mike McCarthy will be returning as head coach.

One of the more intriguing free-agent decisions for the franchise will be how to approach defensive end Randy Gregory. According to ESPN staff writer Todd Archer, Gregory is scheduled to undergo surgery on his left knee on Friday.

"Gregory did not miss a game in 2021 because of the knee issue, but it was something that bothered him for a good portion of the season. He missed one game because of COVID-19 and four because of a calf strain that landed him on injured reserve," Archer wrote. "He is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March but should be cleared in time for the offseason program."

Dallas is the only NFL organization that the 29-year-old has ever known, as Gregory was selected in the second round of the 2015 draft by the club. Despite being in the league for seven years, the pass rusher has only played in 50 career games over five seasons.

After a 12-game rookie season, Gregory played in just two games in 2016 due to multiple suspensions for violating the league's substance abuse policy. He was again suspended for the 2017 season due to more violations of the substance abuse policy, but played a career-high 14 games in 2018.

He was suspended for the entire 2019 season for violating the policy again. He played in 10 games in 2020 and 12 contests in 2021. This past year, Gregory finished second on the team in sacks (6.0), while adding 16 tackles, three forced fumbles and one interception.