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Wednesday, December 3, 1997

Cowboys' Leon Lett will start against Panthers

By Bart Hubbuch / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas -- The newly reinstated Leon Lett will start at right defensive tackle for the Cowboys next week and play as many as 50 snaps. The NFL intends to keep him just as busy off the field.

Lett faces up to 10 league-administered drug tests per month for the rest of his playing career now that he has been reinstated for violating the NFL's drug policy three times, the league said Monday.

Lett, 29 and in his seventh season with the Cowboys, has no room for error in the league's drug program because another positive test would make him subject to indefinite banishment from the NFL, league spokeswoman Leslie Hammond said.

"It's a continued, rigorous program set forth by the league," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Monday. "It's directed toward making good decisions, and I think Leon will make good decisions."

The 6-6, 295-pound Lett refused to speak with reporters after taking part in an abbreviated workout Monday morning. It was his first practice with the Cowboys since being suspended by the NFL on Dec. 3, 1996, for cocaine use.

Lett appeared in good shape physically, prompting defensive tackles coach Craig Boller to say the player dubbed "Big Cat" will start Monday against Carolina in a game the Cowboys (6-7) desperately need to win in order to stay in the NFC's playoff hunt.

Coach Barry Switzer said Lett will play between 40-50 snaps against the Panthers. Lett went five consecutive plays in practice Monday before the Cowboys rested him.

"He didn't look like a guy we just got off the street," Switzer said. "He looked like the Big Cat, making some plays with a big smile on his face."

The Cowboys were jubilant at having Lett back in the lineup at right tackle, especially against the run. Dallas also is certain its anemic pass rush will improve dramatically, and Boller said Lett could move around along the defensive line on passing downs to create better matchups.

No one was happier to see Lett than 34-year-old defensive tackle Tony Casillas, whose workload has more than doubled this season in Lett's absence.

Casillas, who will retire after this season, will be able to play in 20-25 snaps in a backup role alongside rookie Antonio Anderson while Chad Hennings moves over to his usual spot at left tackle to make room for Lett.

"My legs got younger from the first moment I saw him in the locker room," Casillas said. "I feel like I'm 25 again."

Lett signed a five-year, $12.8 million contract in 1995, so the second NFL drug suspension of his career cost him close to $1.5 million in salary. He will count $48,000 against Dallas' salary cap for the rest of this season.

Lett, whom the Cowboys said might speak with reporters later this week, remained in shape by playing basketball and working with a personal trainer during his suspension.

"He's in even better shape than when he left here," defensive end Broderick Thomas said.

Jones last week described the lifting of Lett's suspension by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue as "a life-saving happening" for the troubled player. But wide receiver Michael Irvin -- who also has served an NFL drug suspension -- wouldn't go quite that far.

"I don't know if he needs the game as much as he needs the guys teammates ," Irvin said. "I'm sure he's just happy to be back around the guys. He should be, because this is where he's supposed to be."

(c) 1997, The Dallas Morning News.

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