When the texts from Russell Wilson first started popping up on Randy Gregory’s phone earlier this week, he wasn’t ready to respond.
After a topsy-turvy seven years in the NFL, the 29-year-old was hitting true free agency for the first time. It was less than three years ago that Gregory, serving what would become the second season-long suspension of his career, wondered whether he’d get another chance to take the field. Now, after a breakout 2021 season, he was suddenly on the cusp of a life-changing contract and had a nine-time Pro Bowler blowing up his phone.
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It was exciting. It was also overwhelming.
“It was real stressful,” Gregory said Friday as he was introduced via a Zoom call in Denver after signing his five-year, $70 million deal with the Broncos. “Not how I thought free agency would be.”
Wilson kept calling, finally connecting with Gregory as the quarterback was finishing a visit to the Colorado Children’s Hospital on Tuesday. And Denver’s front office, even after it appeared Gregory was set to return to the Cowboys franchise that drafted him in 2015 and stood behind him amid multiple lengthy suspensions for substance-abuse violations, kept charging forward in pursuit of their top free-agent target. Gregory opted Friday not to delve into the granular details of why he had a last-minute change of heart — “That’s really something my agent, Peter (Schaffer), can handle,” he said — but he did want to make one thing clear: the Broncos made him feel the love, and not just from a financial standpoint.
“From the point we were able to have discussions, Denver has been relentless,” Gregory said. “Even Russell Wilson called me, probably eight times that first night and the next morning. I really felt like they didn’t only need me here, but wanted me here. I really wanted to go somewhere where I was valued and wanted and felt a connection, not only with the culture there and the guys there, but really with the front office and the whole organization. That’s been big for me. A big part of my success is feeling comfortable and valued in my personal and professional space.”
Broncos general manager George Paton said the team had identified Gregory early during their free-agency meeting as the top target at arguably the team’s biggest position of need. From there, Denver started digging into Gregory’s past, which includes 54 games missed to suspensions, in-patient treatment for addiction and, finally, a stretch since returning to the field in 2020 that has seen Gregory play the best football of his career. As Gregory said multiple times Friday, his history is well-documented — including in this profile by The Athletic’s Dan Pompei last July — but the Broncos needed to hear from Gregory himself. They needed to get a sense of the struggles he went through since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2015 and how he came out the other side, more committed to his craft and, more importantly, his personal development.
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“Their questions were a lot tougher than your questions,” Gregory told reporters during his Zoom news conference. “They asked all the right questions. My agent told Mr. Paton, ‘You can ask any question you want. Everything is fair game. Randy is going to be as honest with you as he can be.’ I really felt like those conversations we had went really well. I think they feel safe with what’s needed for me to succeed and where they can accommodate me and things like that. Everyone felt really comfortable with my answers, I hope. We’ll get to know each other even more.”
In the minds of Paton and his personnel staff, the football part of the equation with Gregory was never a question. Paton called him a “prototypical” pass rusher, a lengthy, athletic player who can beat blockers with pure speed, quick bursts or through raw strength. The team’s internal data charted Gregory in the top 10 in the league last season in total pressures — Pro Football Focus marked him 38th with 43 — despite playing only 55 percent of the team’s snaps. Ejiro Evero, the new defensive boss in Denver, figures to use a rotation that includes, for now, Gregory and Bradley Chubb with Malik Reed (assuming he returns on the one-year deal the team tendered him) and Jonathon Cooper behind them. Paton wants to help the coaching staff build a pass rush that comes in “waves,” but the starters — Gregory and Bradley Chubb — have to bring the pain first. The Broncos are hopeful Gregory, who has just 11 career starts to his credit, is only scratching the surface of what he can do in the NFL.
“He puts the fear in offensive coordinators because he can impact the game at any time,” Paton said. “When you watch Randy on tape, the thing that really sticks out is his passion for the game, how hard he plays every down. He can set the edge with his length. He plays with strength, plays with leverage. He’s very active on the move, is disruptive and chases every play, every down.”
The Broncos always felt comfortable with the football piece. After their extensive dig into his past, they felt equally comfortable with how he would fit into the team’s culture, in no small part because of how teammates in Dallas had raved about his presence. There, he was part of the team’s 14-player leadership council last season, a position that Gregory said Friday “surprised me” when it was assigned, but one that helped him grow “organically” as a leader even further over the past year. The Broncos also felt confident their full-court press, led by Wilson, was going to be enough to land Gregory.
But on Tuesday, Gregory agreed to re-sign with the Cowboys. The team even shared a post on its social media accounts announcing that a deal was in place. The Broncos were just about ready to move on to another target. There is no slow-motion button in free agency. The deal-making wheel keeps turning.
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“We thought he was going to the Cowboys,” Paton said. “You win some and you lose some, and we thought we lost him. We woke up in the morning and felt a lot better once we realized he was coming back. These things happen in free agency. It happened to us this year. You roll with the punches and you don’t overreact and you don’t get too emotional. But it was an emotional room when he came back, I’ll tell you that.”
Gregory arrived in Denver on Tuesday night and had dinner with Paton and others in Denver’s organization at Elway’s Steakhouse. But as fellow free-agent acquisition D.J. Jones was introduced to the media on Thursday, Gregory had to wait for last-minute “procedural” issues — some, Paton said, related to this week’s snowstorm in Denver — to be ironed out before he could finally be introduced on Friday and then sign his contract.
The wait, he said, has been worth it. Patience has been part of the process for Gregory — and those around him — as he navigated through the personal struggles that threatened his career.
“I had to want it for myself,” Gregory said. “I had a lot of resources and a lot of help in the past. I’ve had a really, really strong support system, really, since I’ve been a child. I’ve been lucky in that sense. That’s never been an issue. It was really about me wanting it for myself and making sure the right avenue is in front of me to make sure I can succeed. There’s been different things we’ve tried over the course of the last seven years. Some things have worked. Some things haven’t sustained. But the biggest thing is I’ve always tried and I’ve kept trying.
“My story is really well-documented. You can go online and read about it. But for the staff here, the players, the fan base, even (media), I will ask that you give me a chance to show you my real self and not just (what is seen) online. Really get a chance to know me as a person and player.”
Extra points
• The Broncos on Friday signed veteran journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson to a one-year deal. He joins a quarterbacks room that includes Wilson and fourth-year player Brett Rypien. Denver is the 14th different team Johnson has spent time with. He’s appeared in games for six different teams, most recently the Jets and Ravens last season.
• Former Eagles linebacker Alex Singleton agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Broncos, a source confirmed to The Athletic. NFL Network reported the deal to be worth $1.1 million. The former Montana State linebacker was Philadelphia’s leading tackler the past two seasons with 257 tackles during that span. He joins an inside linebacker group that includes Josey Jewell and Baron Browning.
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• Paton on Jewell, who signed a two-year, $11 million deal this week to remain with the Broncos: “Josey was the glue that kept our defense together. He’s so smart and so instinctive. He fits into any defense, I believe. When we lost Josey (to a torn pec in Week 2 last season), it really hurt our defense. The coaches are really high on him. I’m obviously high on him. The more you’re around him, the more you love him. He’s a great leader, great worker and a really good player.”
• The Broncos are converting $6.9 million of wide receiver Tim Patrick’s roster bonus to a signing bonus, a move that creates $4.6 million in cap space and was first reported by 9News. Paton said Friday, before deals for Johnson and Singleton were announced, that the Broncos were getting “low” on cap space, but insisted they still had room to add a couple pieces in free agency.
• Perhaps the biggest need left for the Broncos on the roster is at cornerback, and Paton said he “definitely” wants to add another veteran at that position to the roster during this player movement period. He reiterated that the team hopes to bring nickel Bryce Callahan back in 2022, and he’s also talking with Kareem Jackson’s agent about the possibility of the veteran safety returning to Denver for a fourth season. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore and safety Tyrann Mathieu are among the top defensive backs left on the free-agent market.
• Albert Owkuegbunam “has everything you want in a tight end,” Paton said, but the general manager said Denver will be adding competition for Okwuegbunam as he seeks to take over the starting role vacated by Noah Fant, who was sent to Seattle in the Wilson trade.
(Photo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)
