Joseph Randle goes ‘AWOL’ from Cowboys, status to be determined

Running back Joseph Randle left the Dallas Cowboys’ facility on Wednesday for personal reasons the day after learning he had lost his starting job, a move that reportedly frustrated team officials. It’s another in a growing list of complaints the Cowboys have with Randle. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Randle violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy, a transgression that could carry anything from fines to suspension.

Joseph Randle misses Wednesday's practice. “His decision to go AWOL and miss a treatment session,” wrote the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence E. Hill Jr., “has frustrated a Cowboys staff that has grown increasingly impatient with Randle’s litany of troubles.”

Randle ran afoul of the law twice in recent months amid allegations of shoplifting, domestic violence, and marijuana possession. Schefter indicated that it was a February incident that triggered the NFL’s investigation; Randle was arrested in Wichita, Kan. for possession of marijuana after police received a call from the mother of Randle’s son saying Randle broke a car window and threatened her with a gun. While those charges were dropped, the NFL continued its investigation.

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In more on-field matters, Randle criticized former Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, then failed to live up to Murray’s standard when he was given the rock, totaling only 313 yards and four touchdowns in the team’s first six games and drawing the ire of coaches for the way he handled the ball. Darren McFadden eventually took the starting job from Randle.

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Randle’s latest move comes just days after he announced his intent to be more of a team player. “I just want to be somebody good around the locker room that’s not always mad about this and mad about that, making sure that I’m not a cancer in this locker room,” he said. “So I’m not going to be the one complaining for carries and all this different stuff like that. That’s not how I’m going to play.”

Cowboys and NFL officials are now making the decision of whether Randle will play at all.

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