Jason Garrett press conference: Randy Gregory is expected to practice on Friday

It’s Friday of a game week, that means head coach Jason Garrett addressed the media. Here’s what he had to say. (All Garrett answers are paraphrases of what he said and not direct quotes).

Randy Gregory will practice on Friday

It was reported just before Jason Garrett’s press conference on Friday that Randy Gregory is not expected to play on Sunday against the Giants. The head coach was obviously asked about this.

Garrett kept it as day-to-day as possible noting that Randy Gregory is able to practice on Friday. Randy is coming back from being in concussion protocol and Jason Garrett noted that he “wasn’t the most expert” person on the protocol within the NFL, but said hopefully Gregory handles practice well and is ready for Sunday’s game.

DeMarcus Lawrence is a really good player

When asked how defensive lineman DeMarcus Lawrence has played so well Jason Garrett said that DLaw has been healthy the last couple of years, has worked hard at all parts of his game, and used a classic line talking about his “relentless spirit.” Garrett heaped praise on DeMarcus talking about how he shows up against both the run and pass.

All concussion protocol players are step by step, but Randy has been cleared to practice

When pressed again about Randy Gregory we saw Jason Garrett not bat an eye. He maintained that Randy Gregory has been cleared to practice on Friday and that that’s what they anticipate happening.

Rico Gathers needs opportunities to learn and grow as a player

Jason Garrett was asked if Rico Gathers being inactive last Sunday in Carolina was part of the consequences of his arrest and he noted consequences like that stay in house. He discussed how the Cowboys are going to try to put the best guys out there to win the game.

When asked specifically about whether or not Rico is ready to be active on gameday Jason Garrett said that he “absolutely is” so take that how you will.

Leighton Vander Esch took the “least” amount of SAM linebacker snaps

Cowboys rookie Leighton Vander Esch is someone who we haven’t seen a lot of, but Jason Garrett talked about how LVE is a smart guy and that they saw some things they liked from him in Carolina. Obviously Leighton didn’t play in a ton of snaps, but Garrett discussed how snap counts are “general parameters” for the Cowboys and they were cautious with LVE coming off of his injury.

Garrett said the Cowboys do anticipate him being part of the rotation soon in hopes of spelling Sean Lee and Jaylon Smith.

The Cowboys believe in the culture of Boise State

Obviously the Cowboys have become somewhat known for acquiring former Boise State players and Garrett was once again asked about this. He noted that they don’t want to go simply off of where a guy comes from when it comes to evaluations, he also said they didn’t want to minimize anyone because of it and simply said that they do believe in the culture of that particular program and have been pleased with who they’ve found there.

The Cowboys have been operating with Jourdan Lewis as more of a special teams player

It’s been widely discussed that Jourdan Lewis didn’t play a single snap on defense last week in Carolina, and obviously this is something people have some contention with this. Jason Garrett noted the Cowboys haven’t played much dime defense and if they had that Jourdan would be in consideration for utilization there, but for know they’ve been operating with Chidobe Awuzie, Byron Jones, and Anthony Brown.