Ahead of their matchup against the New York Jets on Sunday, the Denver Broncos made a major move on defense. According to multiple reports, the Broncos have elected to release veteran defensive end Randy Gregory. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio was the first to report the news.
Broncos will be releasing DE Randy Gregory, per source.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 4, 2023
Gregory, who signed a five-year, $70 million contract with Denver last offseason, played in just 1o games with the Broncos. As NFL insider Ari Meirov pointed out, Gregory initially agreed to return to the Dallas Cowboys on a similar deal but eventually changed his mind and joined Denver. He signed a similar contract with some modifications in the language. And now, he’s a free agent again.
In 10 games (six starts) in Denver, Gregory accumulated 21 total tackles (four for loss) with nine quarterback hits and three sacks. He also had a pass defended and two forced fumbles.
The decision to move on from Gregory comes as a surprise in the sense that he’s due a lot of money. But overall, it’s not a surprise as Payton and staff are looking to the future with a newfound youth movement. This was always going to be a transition year for Payton, who benched Gregory last week, in favor of Nik Benitto, who helped force a game-tying sack-fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
It remains to be seen how Denver’s defense will perform without Gregory, but the team is a far cry from having a feared defensive line, which included Gregory, and Bradley Chubb, among several others.
[PFT]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.