NFL suspends ex-Cowboys RB Joseph Randle for four games

DALLAS – Joseph Randle’s really bad month has just gotten worse.

The NFL has decided to suspend the former Cowboys running back for four games due to a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, a source said. The news comes one week after he was released by the Cowboys.

Randle cleared waivers and is currently a free agent. The suspension, which begins immediately, makes it even less likely that a team will make room for him on their roster in the second half of this season.

The episode that resulted in a suspension took place in Wichita eight months ago when police responded to a domestic violence call from his hotel room. Randle has said that incident stemmed from an argument with his ex-girlfriend, Dalia Jacobs, who is the mother of their 2-year-old son. Randle was cited for marijuana possession but the drug charge was later dropped.

In April, Sedgwick County’s district attorney’s office said Randle wouldn’t face felony charges for domestic violence after they investigated allegations from Jacobs that he pointed a gun at her and her friend. The office said there was a lack of evidence.

But that didn’t end the NFL’s involvement. League investigators had met with Randle within the last three weeks to discuss the episode.

This continues the downward spiral for the back who started the first six games of the season for the Cowboys. He suffered a strained oblique in the first quarter of the loss to the New York Giants. Three days later, coach Jason Garrett announced that Darren McFadden would start against Seattle. Randle left the practice facility twice that day, the second time after he called Irving, Texas, police to perform a welfare check on his girlfriend at his home.

The Cowboys released Randle Nov. 3 with Garrett delivering the news over the phone.

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 4:04 PM with the headline "NFL suspends ex-Cowboys RB Joseph Randle for four games."