Cowboys’ Orlando Scandrick thankful for second chance
By Hayden Kane
The Dallas Cowboys have a frighteningly awful defense this season, at least from the looks of things so far. There is a chance, however, that their defense will be a little bit less awful in the coming weeks.
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That possibility comes as a result of a new drug policy that was reportedly voted to pass by the NFLPA on Friday night. With the new agreement in place, a number of players who were suspended will be eligible to return to their teams.
The most noteworthy names are guys like Denver Broncos’ wide reciever Wes Welker and Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver Josh Gordon (whose suspension was actually reduced).
As far as the Cowboys are concerned, that means the reinstatement of defensive back Orlando Scandrick, who has been serving a suspension for his use of “molly.” He returns to a secondary that desperately needs the help. For his part, Scandrick says he is just thankful for the new opportunity. As told to the Star-Telegram:
"“I’m relieved…It feels good to be able to join back and play with my teammates and do what I love. It was the toughest two weeks of my life. It truly allowed me to appreciate the NFL, the game of football, my job and my career. I want to thank the Jones family, coach Jason Garrett and my teammates for their support. I want to assure everybody that this will never happen again. I will take the extra step so this never happens again. I’m just thankful the NFL and the union were able to reach a resolution. I’m speechless.”"
That’s an awful lot of words from a guy who is speechless.
The NFL needed to make these changes to their drug policy, and guys like Welker and Scandrick will be the first beneficiaries of those changes. Scandrick is eligible to be reinstated for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans, but it is unclear as of yet if that will happen or not.