The Dallas Cowboys thought they had brought back one of their top pass rushers on a five-year deal worth $70 million. Instead, Randy Gregory will now be one of the faces of the new-look Denver Broncos.
Tuesday kicked off with a major turn of events with the signing of DE Randy Gregory.
Initially, the former second-round pick was going to re-up with the Dallas Cowboys, as they agreed to a contract worth $70 million ($28 million guaranteed) over five years.
Cowboys are re-signing DE Randy Gregory to a five-year, $70 million deal that includes $28 million guaranteed, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2022
But there was a snag in the process, and Gregory reneged his decision because of some uncertainty from the Cowboys’ side. Instead, he will become the newest member of the Denver Broncos defense on the same deal.
Tying career-highs with six sacks and three forced fumbles in 2021, the Nebraska product also had a new personal best with 17 QB hits and an interception to boot.
Since the start of the 2020 season, Gregory has totaled 29 QB hits, 45 pressures, and 9.5 sacks.
Source says Randy Gregory has decided to sign with the #Broncos.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) March 15, 2022
The move is intriguing on several fronts. Gregory signed this long-term extension the day after the Broncos added D.J. Jones at defensive tackle. The fifth-year pro will also play opposite of fellow pass rusher Bradley Chubb. The former NC State EDGE is talented having a Pro Bowl 2020 season and a 12-sack season, respectively, on his resume, but that ’20 campaign is sandwiched between two seasons where he combined for 11 games played.
The games played number across Gregory’s whole career is a point of note here too. In five career seasons, Gregory has only played in 50 games, so he’s fresher than most 29-year-olds in the league. But those reasons for missing games are varied, between injury and suspension. After failing a drug test at the 2015 NFL Combine, he fell to the second round of the NFL Draft, but there were more troubles to come.
Gregory missed four games with an injury to start the 2015 season and was hit with a total suspension of 14 games in 2016 for failing two drug tests. He failed a third test in the midst of that 14-game suspension and was ultimately suspended for the entire 2017 season.
Gregory was a pleasant surprise on the 2018 Cowboys, though, as he netted his first six-sack season.
But he had another setback, as he was suspended again for the 2019 season due to violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement. So playing in back-to-back seasons for the ‘Boys was a big deal for Randy Gregory, as he last did so during his first two seasons from 2015-16.
The move to head West is a shocker as well considering what Dallas had done to help Gregory off the field, specifically from the top down with owner Jerry Jones. Before free agency even began, Jones shared this quote about Gregory on the Cowboys website on Feb. 2:
"“Knowing our time together and some of the pluses and some of the times that we’ve had to work through and some of the not-so-fun things, that will serve us well,”"
But that leg work was all for naught. Now, Randy Gregory will help Denver open up new head coach Nathaniel Hackett’s era, which also includes future Hall of Fame QB Russell Wilson on the other side of the ball.
There’s risk involved with having two pass rushers who have missed significant time throughout their careers, but you can’t knock the hustle from the Broncos. They’re sticking to the formula of standout pass rushers like they had with Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, which ultimately resulted in winning Super Bowl 50.