Randy Gregory determined to (finally) put injuries behind him

Good morning, Broncos Country!

Over the last seven seasons, there isn’t much to be proud of when it comes to the Denver Broncos.

The lone exception is the defense. The unit is consistently one of the better defenses in the NFL. Given the lack of success for the Broncos, it gets lost.

For Denver’s defense to have success again, consistent pressure on the quarterback will play a big role. Getting it from edge Randy Gregory would be a great start.

A key free agent addition last offseason, a promising start got derailed by injury in Week 4, and he didn’t return until Week 15. It’s become a common refrain over the course of Gregory’s six seasons in the NFL. The best ability is availability. The most games Gregory has played in a season is 14.

As Gregory said to the Broncos website earlier this week:

“I think my thing is fulfilling my end of the agreement, and a big part of that is being able to be available and be healthy. A lot of that’s been offseason just rehabbing, making sure that’s good on that end. I truly feel like if I’m out there for 17 games-plus, I’ll do what I need to do. And that’s the plan.”

If Gregory is able to build on his start to the 2022 season and stay on the field, there’s no doubt he can be a difference-maker for Denver’s defense. In the first four games last season, Gregory had two sacks, seven quarterback hits, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.

“You want rushers. Randy is an elite rusher,” Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said to the Denver media this week. “His best days are ahead of him hopefully, but he is having a solid camp. He’s getting better every single day. He’s made some splash plays in the running game. That’s been surprising to me, but he is what you want.”

The key now for Gregory is to stay on the field.

Paired with Frank Clark, both of them have the potential to wreak havoc on opposing offenses this season. If the Broncos get that, the defense will once again be poised to have another strong season.

“A lot,” Gregory said to the Broncos website. “I’m not going to give you numbers and things like that, but his resume speaks for itself. I think everybody knows what I can do well. (With) him, (and) including the other guys we have there, I think we’ll have a good year.”

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