Oct. 16 (UPI) — The NFL is conditionally reinstating former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman David Irving after his one-season absence from the league.
Sources told ESPN and the Houston Chronicle on Friday that Irving will become a free agent once his reinstatement is finalized, and he can sign with an NFL team at any time. According to ESPN, Irving has drawn interest from at least six teams this month.
The 27-year-old Irving announced in March 2019 that he was quitting football. His announcement came shortly after the NFL suspended him indefinitely for violating its substance-abuse policy for a third time in as many years.
Irving revealed his decision to step away from the league in an Instagram video where he appeared to be smoking marijuana, saying he was walking away due to the NFL’s restrictive policies on the substance.
But with players no longer being tested for marijuana use under the new collective bargaining agreement, Irving wants to return to the league.
“I am very proud of David and his commitment to self-growth,” Irving’s lawyer, Daniel Moskowitz, said in a statement Friday. “This is a story of redemption.”
Irving, an undrafted free agent out of Iowa State, made his NFL debut with the Cowboys in 2015. He recorded 56 total tackles, 12.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 37 career games with Dallas from 2015-18.
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