The Broncos could end up with buyer’s remorse on Randy Gregory

The decision to sign the edge rusher was always seen as a gamble, but the revelation that he had shoulder surgery make the signing even riskier

BY JAMES MERILATT

Mar 30, 2022, 1:46 PM

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When the deal was announced, there was some trepidation. Yes, the Broncos had landed one of the most highly regarded edge rushers on the free agent market, filling a big void on their roster. But they also gave a five-year, $70-million contract, with $28 million guaranteed, to a player with a bit of a troubled past.

There’s no doubting that Randy Gregory can play. At 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, he can cause a lot of problems for opposing offensive tackles. Any time he was on the field, Gregory made that abundantly clear.

The issue, however, was that he wasn’t on the field very often. During his five seasons with the Cowboys, the former second-round pick had only played in 50 games. He’d only started 12. And he’d only recorded 16.5 career sacks.

In other words, the Broncos were taking a gamble. They were betting that the issues that had plagued Gregory during his career, including multiple NFL suspensions that added up to 54 total games, were in the past. It was a risk; there’s no other way to put it.

Now, it appears as though it was an even dicier move than originally thought. On Tuesday, it was revealed that Gregory had shoulder surgery since signing with the Broncos, a procedure that will keep him out of the team’s offseason program, with the hope that he’ll be ready to go by the start of the season.

Whether or not the Broncos knew about Gregory’s shoulder injury has been the topic of speculation. Both parties claim that they were aware of it before giving him a contract that averages $14 million per season.

It is safe to say that Gregory could’ve gotten the surgery done earlier, however. The Cowboys season ended more than two months ago. He could’ve gotten a jump on the rehab program, giving himself a better chance to be ready when training camp and the season rolls around.

The issue is whether or not the edge rusher will be able to live up to the deal. Doing everything possible to be ready for the start of year one certainly would’ve improved his chance of doing so.

The Broncos were betting that Gregory’s off-the-field issues, which have hounded him since his college days at Nebraska, were behind him. Now, they’re also gambling that he’s healthy.

Given his inability to be on the field, for whatever reason, that’s a huge red flag. It’s certainly not getting off to a good start.

Instead of going through OTAs and minicamps with his new teammates, learning Ejiro Evero’s system, he’ll be rehabbing his shoulder. Instead of fine tuning things during training camp and the preseason, Gregory will be trying to determine if he’s ready to go.

It sounds eerily familiar to what the Broncos endured last season with Bradley Chubb. The former first-round pick had offseason ankle surgery and was unable to participate in the team’s offseason program. Throughout training camp, he spent more time on the “rehab field” than practicing. He came back, aggravated it during Denver’s final preseason game, re-injured it in Week 2 and had a disappointing, 0.0-sack season.

That’s not to say Gregory’s first year will follow that same trajectory. But it’s impossible to say it won’t.

There were always reasons to be concerned when the Broncos gave the edge rusher a big deal. Now, there’s another one.

It doesn’t mean he won’t be good in Denver. It doesn’t mean that George Paton made a mistake giving him hefty contract. But it does mean that’s now more likely than it was on the day the deal was announced.

There was always a concern that the Broncos would some day regret their decision to ink Randy Gregory. Now, there’s an even bigger chance that they’ll end up having buyer’s remorse. His tenure certainly isn’t off to a good start.

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