4:15pm: When speaking about the Gregory move, Payton said (via the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson) the Broncos are still in the process of trying to find a trade partner. If no deal materializes, the release will go through in the next day or so. Notably, Payton added that Gregory did not, in fact, ask for his release upon learning that the Broncos will turn their attention to younger members of their edge rush group. In any event, he will soon find himself out of the Mile High City.
10:16am: The Broncos are admitting a mistake on Randy Gregory early. After benching the 2022 free agency pickup in Week 4, Denver is moving on. The team is releasing the veteran edge rusher, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
This will tag the Broncos with a big dead-money hit. They had signed Gregory to a five-year, $69.5MM deal in free agency, finalizing a deal after Gregory talks with the Cowboys hit an 11th-hour snag. Denver intends to use its younger pass rushers under Sean Payton. The Broncos have now moved on from Gregory and Bradley Chubb in consecutive years.
Denver moved Gregory to the trade block this week, with 9News’ Mike Klis reporting the team had been trying to unload the talented but unreliable veteran. As a vested vet, Gregory will head straight to free agency. The former Cowboys second-round pick asked for his release Tuesday, per Klis, and Payton will grant the request after no trade buyers emerged.
Gregory, 30, had been a key part of GM George Paton‘s post-Von Miller edge rusher plan. A year after deploying a Chubb-Gregory setup at outside linebacker, the Broncos are rid of both. They dealt Chubb to the Dolphins at last year’s deadline, doing so while Gregory was out with a knee injury. While Gregory showed flashes as a pass rusher, his Broncos tenure featured the undependability his Cowboys run did. Gregory’s Broncos run ends with just three sacks.
The Cowboys thought they had a deal done with Gregory, but the oft-suspended Nebraska alum objected to language inserted into the contract. Denver made the initial Gregory offer in March 2022; the former Dallas starter said he would stay a Cowboy if the team matched the terms. Dallas did, but the disagreement on language led Gregory to Colorado. The Cowboys ended up doing fine after Gregory left, forming a dominant edge-rushing group that includes Dorance Armstrong — who re-signed shortly after Gregory’s defection — along with Dante Fowler and 2022 second-rounder Sam Williams.
Gregory came to Denver on the heels of a shoulder surgery, one that kept him out of training camp last year. A knee injury sidelined Gregory early in his first Broncos campaign, and while he returned late in the year, Gregory’s first season offered little in the way of production. Denver managed to field a top-10 defense largely without Gregory, though its pass rush took a hit after Chubb’s departure. The Broncos benched Gregory after giving up 70 points in Week 3, with the ninth-year veteran’s effort — particularly against the run — leading to the demotion.
While the Broncos remain fairly deep on the edge, two of their cogs here — Baron Browning and Frank Clark — are unavailable. Browning is on Denver’s reserve/PUP list due to an offseason knee injury, while Clark is working his way back from an abductor malady sustained in a recent practice. Browning is eligible to return this week, though it is uncertain if the third-year linebacker will be ready. Clark is hoping to come back for this week’s Jets matchup.
The Broncos benched Gregory for Nik Bonitto, a 2022 second-rounder. He and 2021 seventh-rounder Jonathon Cooper are the Broncos’ starting edges for the time being. The two teamed up on the pivotal Justin Fields fumble-six in Sunday’s comeback win. Bonitto, Denver’s top 2022 draft choice, registered 2.5 sacks against the Bears. The Cooper-Bonitto duo may generate some optimism, but the Broncos have taken a massive step back on defense. Vance Joseph‘s unit ranks last in points and yards allowed, with a historically bad Miami outing sounding alarm bells.
The Gregory chapter represents a misstep on the Broncos’ part. The team had hoped Gregory’s lower-mileage Cowboys run — thanks to four suspensions — would help lead to a late prime period. Instead, Gregory is gone after just 10 games with the team. The Broncos will eat $16.1MM in dead money as a result of the cut. Gregory’s Cowboys form, which produced six-sack seasons in 2018 and 2020, will undoubtedly lead to another chance elsewhere. Though, it is unlikely he will come close to the $14MM-per-year pact the Broncos authorized.
Seems to be a good fit for Seattle.
No thanks
Cowboys reunion on the cheap.
Oopsie.
Gregory had 16.5 career sacks and missed more games than he played due to suspension/injury while at Dallas. 5yr 70mm is a microcosm of why Denver is a laughingstock right now.
Was a bad signing, this guy is so overrated.
I hated this contract from the start. An older pass rusher who had barely played and had a single season high of 6 sacks (and less than 20 for his career) was supposed to be a free agent anchor on that deal? It was ridiculous and foolhardy. Sure enough, two years and three sacks later, he’s out.
Because of the cap hit, I thought that the Broncos would hold on to Gregory until the end of the year to at least have a body there, but I’m not surprised that they wanted to let him go. I just thought that they’d get another year off the deal. It seems that this is commentary on his attitude as well. After two embarrassingly bad defensive performances in a row (I would say three, actually, given the comeback by Washington), there’s no doubt that Denver is making changes. While I would credit most of that to Joseph changing a perfectly good scheme, Gregory hasn’t been an impact player at all and yet seems to have with opponents after every play. He’s also had injuries, so he’s still missing time even without his suspensions. Gregory played in six games last year out of seventeen, having two sacks. Not good.
Hopefully for Denver, Browning will be able to provide some type of stable improvement on his return. I’d still classify that a risk at this particular moment, though. Bonitto has picked up steam in the last two weeks, despite bad overall defensive performances, and the Broncos will hope that he and Cooper can hold down the edges. Gregory being released still doesn’t solve their secondary issues, however, particularly the corner spots behind Surtain. Surtain himself has looked out of place in this new scheme, so it’s not surprising that the other corners have struggled. Jackson wasn’t supposed to play this many snaps, especially in coverage, but he’s better a backup than many teams have, and Turner-Yell has played well for a fourth string safety. But Simmons and Sterns going out is hard to overcome, especially with a scheme change, iffy corner play, and no edge setting up front. Hopefully for Denver, they figure that out.
As for Gregory…some team may as well sign him as a rotational rusher (I see the Cowboys bringing him back, but any team could use that). That’s really the only success he’s had, and at this point, that’s what I would expect from him. Denver should have expected that, as well.
Every once in a while an NFL team gambles. Sometimes the gamble pays off (trade up for Montez Sweat), sometimes it doesn’t (sign Randy Gregory in free agency; pick “generational talent” Chase Young at #2). $16 million is not a huge sum to pay to close a multi-season bad bet at NFL level.
Gregory will struggle to get work after the trouble he gave the Cowboys and his no-effort stint in Denver.
I agree. I just thought at the time that was a bad bet. I don’t take much pleasure in seeing that was correct.
If Gregory’s attitude or effort played into his release, I would agree that he’ll have a lot of work to do find a new spot. Apparently Dallas wanted to re-sign him, so I suppose he can see if he wore out his welcome.
The Cowboys and the Patriots do good business renting out their overpriced free agents for a year or two and then welcoming them back at hugely discounted rates.
Great Value for the Broncos
He will be signed by Dallas on the cheap.
He went from a 4-3 to a 3-4 different defense
Gotta love Payton for just cutting bait.
Weed.
You don’t guarantee huge money to a guy who loves dope as much as Gregory. I saw this coming all the way.
“Let’s ride” into the land of unmotivated overpaid football millionaires.