Jerry Jones backs Cowboys DE Randy Gregory after suspension

Jerry Jones defends Randy Gregory saying, “Rome was not built in a day.”

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones voiced his support for defensive end Randy Gregory after the NFL suspended him for the first four games of the season after violating the league's substance abuse policy, according to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning-News.

"Anybody who has had any type of substance treatment knows that Rome was not built in a day," Jones said. "That's not being too tolerant. That's being patient. He just happens to have a job that has zero tolerance at some point for any ingestion of substance.”

The team previously expressed its disappointment in a statement by executive vice president Stephen Jones.

“This is a disappointment,” Jones said. “We have been clear with Randy about what his responsibilities are and what is expected of him. This is something that he is going to have to work through and correct.”

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Gregory has dealt with substance abuse since his college days, failing a drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine after leaving Nebraska. He was drafted by Dallas in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft, but he failed three drug tests during the 2015 season.

He finished his rookie season with 11 tackles in 12 games. He missed four games due to an ankle sprain.