Retired defensive tackle Josh Brent will meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday in his bid to seek reinstatement to the league, according to Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones.

If Brent is cleared to return, Jones said the Cowboys would clear a roster spot for him.

Brent has not played since December 2012 after his involvement in a car accident that killed his friend and teammate Jerry Brown. Brent was released from an addiction rehabilitation facility on July 29 and sent a letter seeking reinstatement the next day.

He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 10 years' probation in January after being convicted of intoxication manslaughter. He spent the final 45 days of his sentence at Enterhealth, an alcohol and drug treatment center near Dallas.

Brent could face further punishment from the NFL's personal conduct policy. Jones said he would not ask Goodell to speed up the reinstatement process. "Good judgment tells us let this happen on the commissioner's time," Jones said after Monday's practice. "Seriously, I don't want to be presumptuous and there's no pressure. He looks and should look at all discipline straight to the player ... There's no place for input, in my mind, from the club asking to facilitate something that might be to the advantage of the club. This is about the player, the player's future, the NFL and our policies in the NFL."

Brent retired prior to the 2013 season. He joined the Cowboys in 2010 as a seventh-round pick in the supplemental draft, playing in 39 games with five starts. Jones and the Cowboys have supported Brent since the accident, as has Brown's mother, Stacey Jackson.

The Cowboys have always publicly supported Brent, evident by them inviting him to attend Cowboys games on the sidelines during the 2012 season while his case was still pending.

Jones comments come as no surprise as the Cowboys need help on the defensive line for a defense that was ranked the worse in the league last season. It isn't a guarantee by any means neccessary that Brent would even make the Cowboys roster considering there's no telling what type of shape he may be in after spending the last year and a half in jail.

Former Cowboys Michael Irvin and Nate Newton, who had their own off-field issues as players, have offered to serve as mentors for Brent with adviser David Wells also serving as a confidante. Wells has a long history of working with troubled Cowboys, including Irvin, Newton, Adam Jones, Dez Bryant and others. "All you can do is give him support and try to direct him in the right way," Newton said last week. "Let him know that what he's doing is a great thing and can only benefit him and the Cowboys alike. I'm a realist, man. Don't get caught up in, 'We love you.' Get caught up in, 'I've got a second chance. Do I love myself?' That's who you've got to love. "If you love and respect yourself, then the Cowboys are going to benefit. If you don't love and respect yourself, the first person that's going down is you. For the Cowboys, you're just another story. Unfortunately, it can be a sad story. Or it can be a great story."