Randy Gregory Characterized as Player Who 'Could Disappoint' Broncos

'Could' being the operative word.

Randy Gregory's star-crossed reputation continues to precede him — so much so that the veteran pass-rusher was tagged as the one Broncos player who "could disappoint" in 2022.

"The Denver Broncos don't know what they're going to get out of Randy Gregory in a full-time starting role," Bleacher Report's Maurice Moton wrote earlier this week. "He has yet to play through a complete season or more than 55 percent of the defensive snaps in a single campaign."

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Denver does know what they're getting in Gregory, who struggled with substance abuse and served numerous NFL suspensions early in his career — demons that are now behind the former second-round pick.

The Broncos also know what Gregory did last season, his last of five seasons with the Cowboys: 29 pressures, 17 quarterback hits, six sacks, four tackles-for-loss, three forced fumbles, and one defensive touchdown across 55% of Dallas' snaps.

Gregory spun his production into a $70 million free-agent commitment from the Broncos, which included $28 million guaranteed.

"With that investment in Gregory, the Broncos will likely expect to see a more complete player with a higher number of tackles and stops behind the line of scrimmage, which is a gamble because the 29-year-old doesn't have high-volume numbers across the board in any of his five active seasons," Moton wrote.

In actuality, the Broncos likely are more concerned with Gregory's recovery from offseason shoulder surgery than his past rearing its ugly head. Even then, the club isn't all that worried.

"For everything he’s doing, he’s doing a great job of rehabbing, getting his mind right and getting ready to be able to attend training camp and everything," head coach Nathaniel Hackett said on June 14. "We want to be sure that we do the right thing. We want to make sure that we take care of him and we get him ready for that first Sunday.”

Once recovered, Gregory will be firmly cemented as a starter at outside linebacker opposite Bradley Chubb. And with that comes the boom-or-bust narrative he can't seem to shake. Yet.

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