Sherrington: How did a once-promising career go so bad, so fast for ex-Cowboys RB Joseph Randle?

The fast-and-furious decline of Joseph Randle hit bottom Tuesday when the Cowboys released the running back, raising a couple of questions in the process: 

How does a once-promising career go so bad, so fast? 

And what else can go wrong this season? 

Even if, like me, you didn't think Randle capable of getting to the meat that DeMarco Murray supposedly left on the bone, Randle had a pedigree. A productive running back at Oklahoma State, he showed flashes early with the Dallas Cowboys. If not exactly a genius, he was employed to run with a football, not work Sudoku puzzles. 


Still, over the last 12 months, he was arrested for shoplifting cologne and underwear, then again four months later on marijuana and domestic violence charges. 

Just last week -- a turbulent one at that as he suddenly disappeared from the Cowboys' plans -- he called the cops to his place, thinking his girlfriend might be in trouble. 

Of course, that was just his record with the authorities. After the shoplifting arrest, a police video caught him replying to a possible suspension with the bon mot, "Dez didn't miss no games for slapping his mama." Also asked a female jail employee for a $100 massage. On top of that embarrassment, he got into it with Dez Bryant at practice over the line about Dez's mother, only to be silenced by Jason Witten. 

Bottom line: With Randle, it was always something, little of it any good. 

The theft charge was dismissed and authorities decided not to pursue the domestic violence allegations, but Randle wasn't so lucky with the NFL, which is about to fine or even suspend him. 

Only the Cowboys released him first, not 48 hours after Jerry Jones said he was concerned about Randle's mental health. 

If Randle does, indeed, have some sort of mental illness, let's hope first and foremost he gets the help he needs. Life won't get any easier now that he's out of the NFL, which is where he's likely to remain with a suspension hanging over him. Unlike his former teammate, Greg Hardy, he can't be assured someone else will take a chance on him. He doesn't have the numbers to make him worth the risk. 

Jerry will put up with a productive player, as Hardy has proven a couple of times already. But a team on a five-game losing streak doesn't need any more aggravation. Especially when it's clear you're no longer part of the solution. source