Sean Payton and the Broncos delivered a Week 5 surprise Wednesday by starting the process releasing veteran pass rusher Randy Gregory, head coach Sean Payton confirmed Wednesday.
Gregory inked a five-year deal worth up to $70 million in the spring of 2022 but played in just 10 games for the franchise. He had about $28 million guaranteed on his deal.
“It’s something we just felt is best for our team right now, timing-wise,” Payton said, adding that the team initiated the decision process rather than Gregory asking to be released. … “You spend a lot of time on decisions like this and, like I said, we felt like it was best for our team.”
The former second-round draft pick from Dallas missed 10 weeks with a knee injury last year and had struggled to generate production early on in 2023. On Sunday against Chicago, second-year man Nik Bonitto took his starting spot.
Gregory had a guaranteed $14 million base salary for 2023 and a cap hit of $16.1 million. According to OverTheCap data, the Broncos have $6.3 million in prorated bonus charges left to account for on Gregory’s deal. The prorated portion of his base salary for the rest of this season is $10.71 million. As such, in terms of the salary cap Denver is likely on the hook for Gregory’s entire $16.1 million charge this year and the $6.3 million in bonus proration as dead charge on its 2024 cap.
The Broncos tried to trade Gregory in recent days, sources told The Post. No firm deal materialized, but the sides clearly were approaching the end of the road together. It was best for both sides, then, to jettison Gregory.
Payton said Monday Denver fielded some interest in Gregory and was perhaps holding out hope a trade could come together.
“It hasn’t been finalized yet because typically before a transaction takes place, there might be some teams interested in a trade,” Payton said. “If any of that came to fruition, we’d let you guys know.”
Gregory’s totals as a Bronco: 21 tackles (four for loss), three sacks and nine quarterback hits. He started out 2022 as a force opposite Bradley Chubb, but injured his knee in Week 4 against Las Vegas and has had essentially nothing but turmoil since then. He missed most of the season, only to return in limited fashion for two games. In the second of those, he instigated multiple fights in the Broncos’ 51-14 blowout loss to Los Angeles on Christmas Day, got suspended, had the suspension rescinded and then was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.
Now with Gregory gone, Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper are likely to continue starting, while veteran Frank Clark (hip) and Baron Browning (knee) could be back in the rotation soon.
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