Denver Broncos release ex-Dallas Cowboys DE Randy Gregory, per reports

The Randy Gregory era in Denver is over after less than two seasons.

Gregory, who spurned the Cowboys in free agency in March 2022, has been released by the Broncos during the second year of his five-year, $70 million deal, according to multiple reports. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Broncos released the 30-year-old Gregory to focus on the youth movement in Denver.

When he was a free agent, Gregory had initially agreed to a similar five-year, $70 million deal with the Cowboys, with $28 million guaranteed. The Cowboys’ team Twitter account even said in a since-deleted post that Gregory was staying in Dallas.

Then Gregory pulled the rug out from under the Cowboys and flipped to Denver on a similar deal. The decision stemmed from a disagreement on some language in Gregory’s contract.

Sources told The Dallas Morning News’ at the time that Gregory objected to a contract clause saying the team had the right to void or withhold money should a player be fined by the NFL. The clause is a standard stipulation in most Cowboys contracts. Denver’s offer did not include such a clause.

A few days after flipping to the Broncos, Gregory ripped the Cowboys’ “toxic fan base” on Twitter.

The Cowboys drafted Gregory in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. He showed talent in his 50 games with Dallas, racking up 16.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss and eight forced fumbles. However, during his time in Dallas he missed 54 games due to suspensions.

In 10 games with the Broncos over the last two seasons, Gregory, who played linebacker in Denver, had three sacks, four tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. In last week’s win over the Bears, linebacker Nik Bonitto replaced Gregory as a starter. The Broncos drafted Bonitto out of Oklahoma in the second round of the 2022 draft.

Now that his time in Denver is over, Gregory will once again become a free agent.

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