A year ago, the Denver Broncos started 2-2 under coach Nathaniel Hackett. New coach Sean Payton said it might have been “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.”
But the Broncos have since made several changes to their roster, including spending over $240 million in free agency this past offseason. One would think the Broncos would be a lot better, but they’re not.
While the Broncos have improved their 32nd-ranked scoring offense to the tenth-highest scoring team in the NFL, their defense now ranks dead last after finishing 14th in points allowed in 2022.
The hope was that Randy Gregory, who inked a five-year, $70 million contract in March of 2022, would be a big part of the team’s effort to have a respectable defense. Yet, Gregory’s production hasn’t lived up to his earnings.
Now, the Broncos have had enough and are releasing the former Cowboys edge rusher after just ten total games with the team.
According to Adam Schefter, the idea stems from the Broncos wanting to play younger players. Which based on last week’s effort, when Denver started second-year linebacker Nik Bonitto in place of Gregory, this insight seems to line up with the Broncos’ actions. The 64th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft recorded four tackles (two for loss), 2.5 sacks, and a key forced fumble that helped get the Broncos their first win of the season.
Meanwhile, Gregory ends his Broncos career with just three sacks. Not only does this move signify that the Broncos could be getting closer to embracing a youth movement as they continue their tough season, but they also save quite a bit in cap space while also taking penalties.
The Broncos will see $9.8M in cap relief in 2024 but are taking a $16.6M cap penalty this season. However, if Coach Payton can’t get this season turned around, it won’t matter how many salary cap penalties they incur this year anyway. The release of Gregory also sends a $6.3M cap hit into 2024 as well.
Gregory has 19.5 sacks in his seven-year NFL career and will now be able to sign with any team interested in his services. Gregory is 30 years old.
Related: 2023 NFL defense rankings: See how far the Denver Broncos have fallen