Add yet another strange twist to the saga of Randy Gregory, and this time, it will include a near-miss with his former Cowboys teammates.
The 30-year-old defensive end was traded to the San Francisco 49ers late Friday afternoon, a surprising development given the Denver Broncos’ announcement just two days prior that they would be releasing the onetime second-round draft pick in favor of a youth movement under new head coach Sean Payton and first-year defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
But the Broncos never formally released Gregory, and will now send him and a 2024 seventh-round draft pick to San Francisco in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in next spring’s draft.
Trade is now official: Broncos have acquired a 2024 sixth-round pick from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for outside linebacker Randy Gregory and a 2024 seventh-round pick, the teams announced.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 6, 2023
The news initially set the stage for Gregory to possibly face the Cowboys, the team that originally drafted him out of Nebraska in 2015 and held his rights throughout the first seven seasons of his sometimes-troubled pro career.
Gregory was quickly declared eligible to play in the Week 5 clash, the most eagerly-anticipated game of the young season and an NFC showdown already brimming with rich subplots.
The Cowboys had planned to re-sign Gregory last March and even announced having done so, but a heated dispute over language in the contract led Gregory to change his mind and sign an identical deal with Denver.
But now he leaves another organization with eleventh-hour drama following him on his way out the door.
Shortly after news of the Broncos-49ers trade broke, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones was asked about the possibility of facing their former standout on the field this Sunday night.
“Who knows?” Jones told 105.3 The Fan. “Nothing ever surprises you when it comes to the NFL. It’ll be interesting to see if he tries to suit up.”
But according to David Lombardi of The Athletic, Gregory will not play- or even be on the sideline- when his former squad comes to town. After passing a physical for the 49ers, Gregory was scheduled to fly back to Denver to finalize his move to the Bay Area, where he will join his new team next week.
Despite the short-lived panic over the Niners adding more star power to their dominant defense, it is worth noting that the Broncos were set to unceremoniously release Gregory- at his own request- just 10 game appearances into a 5-year, $70 million contract.
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Gregory had logged nine tackles and one sack thus far in 2023 for the Broncos.
He’ll get roughly $10 million from the Broncos for the remainder of the season; San Francisco will pay him the league minimum.
To make room for Gregory on their roster, the 49ers are planning to release defensive lineman Kerry Hyder Jr., another former Cowboy.
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