Broncos roster review: linebacker Randy Gregory

Randy Gregory was a marquee signing for the Denver Broncos back in the offseason of the 2022 season. He was immediately given a big-money contract with the team for $70 million for five years.

He would then go on to only start three games for the team and play in six due to a knee injury sustained in Week 4 against the Raiders.

The Broncos desperately need as many bodies on the defensive front as possible, and a healthy Gregory would be a phenomenal asset.

Player Profile

Height: 6’5” | Weight: 242 pounds | Age: 30 years old

Experience: 7th Season

2022 Stats

In the six games that Randy Gregory played in during the 2022-23 season, he would rack up two sacks, 12 tackles, and two forced fumbles.

While he didn’t play in many games, he was impactful when he did manage to stay on the field.

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Randy Gregory’s 2023 outlook

The Denver pass rush unit has garnered a lot of attention and praise over the course of training camp and was able to prove it a little bit in their preseason game against the Cardinals, but Randy Gregory would have a fairly quiet night.

He would finish the game with just one tackle and one QB hit in 10 snaps (13% of all defensive snaps). Over the course of those 10 snaps, he would be handled in the passing game by Cardinals rookie right tackle Paris Johnson Jr. The built-in excuse here is that he is coming off of a long layoff and it can take some time to get used to game speed and effort.

The positive from this fairly quiet performance is that he looked pretty good in the eye test, with his explosiveness and quickness being there. There is still time in the preseason to work these sorts of kinks out. Especially after Sean Payton said that the starters will see plenty of time over the next couple of games.

Final thoughts

Overall, I still like what Gregory brings to the table for this pass rush. With him lining across from the surging Baron Browning, this should be a lot for opposing offensive lines to handle.

And even with Jonathan Cooper having himself a heckuva training camp so far, that might make things easier for Gregory as you aren’t forced to have him in a large majority of the game. Something that can prevent too much wear and tear over the course of a season, and something that can make him more lethal on 3rd down and obvious pass situations.