When the Broncos signed Randy Gregory in March 2022, they hoped for a career surge.
They tried to guard against the opposite.
They probably couldn’t have imagined, even for a player who had missed so much time to injury and suspension in his career, that it would end like this.
The Gregory era in Denver ended unceremoniously Wednesday when the team informed him of his impending release following four ineffective games. He lost his starting job to Nik Bonitto on Sunday and his spot on the roster three days later.
Even considering general manager George Paton and everybody else involved knew giving Gregory big money carried risk, moving on from the 30-year-old a month into the second season of a five-year deal goes down as a major disappointment and a considerable financial mistake.
It will also be a test of the young depth the Broncos have tried to cultivate over the past two years.
Gregory’s deal was never likely to actually approach five years and $70 million, but Denver will ultimately pay him $28 million for 10 games played. They’ll pay him $9.3 million per sack he logged in orange and blue. Per tackle? $1.33 million.
The Broncos tried to trade him and, according to head coach Sean Payton, spent Wednesday still hoping a deal would materialize. Once you go to other teams and start asking if they want a veteran player, however, those teams know the writing’s already on the wall.
Not only that, but film rarely lies. Gregory played 34 snaps against Miami in Week 3 and didn’t register a single counting stat. No tackles, no pressures, no nothing.
In four games (three starts) this fall, he registered one sack and nine tackles.
On the hook for the remaining $10.7 million of Gregory’s guaranteed $14 million base salary regardless of circumstance this year, Denver decided to pay Gregory to go away and get a good, long look at Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper.
“We just felt like these other guys were playing better,” Payton said. “It happens in this league. Shoot, we want the best players possible and so it was a combination of things. Those other guys stepped up and we feel like they’re playing better.”
Indeed, Bonitto’s time is now.
He started in Gregory’s place Sunday at Chicago and logged 2.5 sacks. He’s still too often a liability in the run game, but he plays fast and said Wednesday he’s been trying to learn how to play consistently.
“Don’t just have one good week and then be OK,” Bonitto said. “I need to keep building on it.”
The 2022 second-round draft pick out of Oklahoma said he was grateful for Gregory’s advice over the past 18 months.
“He was here Day 1 helping me out and preparing me for a moment like this when I would be able or have to come in and start and play a lot of minutes,” Bonitto said.
Denver at some point soon will also get veteran Frank Clark (hip) and third-year man Baron Browning (knee) back into the rotation as well.
“The youth on this team, they’ve been doing a helluva job at always staying ready and competing,” said Clark, who signed a one-year deal in June. “Nik Bonitto, Big Coop, my boy Baron Browning just came back so you already know what time it is.
“We’ve got some of the young shiners back out there. I could go on all day if you want me to.”
Clark, who hasn’t played since Week 1 because of a torn adductor muscle near his hip, had particular praise for Bonitto.
“His ability to step in there as a backup guy — at that point he’s a backup guy and probably not too sure if he’s going to be a starter or play that much, but you get to the game and the guy’s ready,” Clark said. … “Everything was hitting. He hit his marks, he’s doing his job, he’s striking well, he’s getting off the ball. I’m sure y’all enjoyed seeing him get off that ball and make a lot of those plays. That’s always been Nik.
“Second-round pick here. High-level, high-ceiling guy. I just feel like he’s doing everything he can right now and it’s showing.”
Life comes at you fast in the NFL. Bonitto was way down the depth chart to start his rookie season. Then Bradley Chubb got traded. Browning got hurt. Jacob Martin was traded for and then not retained. Now Gregory’s gone, too.
Clark can be a rotation player when he’s healthy and Browning is explosive, but it’s likely to take him some time to get back up to speed.
That means, really, it’s Bonitto’s show along with Cooper going forward.
“It’s about being in shape and being conditioned and more than anything going into the film room and knowing everything a team likes to do,” Bonitto said. “That way, even if your body might be fatigued, mentally you’ve got to be able to play 40 plays and know what’s coming at you.”
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