ENGLEWOOD, CO — The Denver Broncos made the decision earlier this week to part ways with Randy Gregory. After it was initially by ESPN’s Adam Schefter that he was released, Denver held off in hopes of finding a trade partner for the veteran pass rusher.
Denver Broncos trade Randy Gregory to San Francisco 49ers
On Friday afternoon, the Denver Broncos traded veteran pass rusher Randy Gregory to the San Francisco 49ers as first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
According to Pelissero, the Broncos are trading Gregory and a 2024 7th-round pick and will be getting a 2024 sixth-round pick from San Francisco.
Gregory signed a five-year $70M contract two years ago, but only appeared in 10 total games as a member of the Broncos.
Earlier this week, Broncos head coach Sean Payton touched on why the team made the decision to move on from the veteran pass rusher.
“It was something that we felt was just best for our team right now, timing wise,” Payton told us on Wednesday. “It hasn’t been finalized yet because typically before a transaction takes place, there may be some teams interested in a trade. If any of that came to fruition, we would let you guys know. We felt like with some of our younger players and where we are going, it was best for our team right now.”
That direction now involves the Broncos moving forward with second-year pass rusher Nik Bonitto and third-year pass rusher Jonathon Cooper as the two starters at outside linebacker. Veteran Frank Clark appears to be making progress in his recovery from a groin injury that’s held him out of action for the last three weeks, and he could return on Sunday vs. the New York Jets.
In Sunday’s win vs. the Chicago Bears, Bonitto and Cooper combined for 3.5 sacks, nine tackles, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.
On top of that, outside linebacker Baron Browning was activated off of the PUP list and will make his return soon.
