Broncos HC Sean Payton Teases Potential Randy Gregory Trade

What are the Denver Broncos really doing with Randy Gregory?

On Wednesday, the Denver Broncos made big news, releasing veteran rush linebacker Randy Gregory. Or so went the initial report. 

However, Broncos head coach Sean Payton took to the podium after Wednesday's practice and revealed that the Gregory "transaction" isn't official quite yet as the team is leaving the door open for the next couple of days for an outside team to make a trade offer. 

“None of it has been finalized yet," Payton said. "It was something that we felt was just best for our team right now, timing-wise. 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.”

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The Broncos signed Gregory last year to a five-year, $70 million contract. He spent most of Year 1 in Denver injured, and by Week 4 of Year 2, he was demoted from his starting position and supplanted by Nik Bonitto. 

The Dallas Cowboys, who drafted Gregory and with whom he played his first five seasons, made a strong push to re-sign him, but according to sources at the time, the team brass felt like he did them dirty. So it's doubtful Dallas will come calling the Broncos on Greogry, especially considering his dreadful play thus far. 

There are pass-rush-needy teams out there, and while waiting just a couple of days would eliminate the requirement to send compensation to the Broncos in a trade, if some defensive coordinator or GM out there wants to guarantee landing Gregory, a trade would be the only avenue. 

However, any interested suitor would also have to be willing to absorb Gregory's albatross of a contract, which includes a $14 million base salary for 2023. The soon-to-be 31-year-old seems to be on a massive decline and relatively disinterested in football, so in all likelihood, the Broncos will "finalize" his release and he'll be a free agent. 

According to Payton, there were multiple factors in the Broncos' decision to move on from Gregory, and the head coach also rebutted the notion that it was a "mutual" decision, as Pro Football Talk reported. 

“In fairness to the question, it was a number of things," Payton said of Gregory. "He played 30 snaps last week. We just felt like these other guys were playing better. It happens in this league. We want the best players possible. There was a combination of things. Those other guys stepped up, and we felt like they’re playing better.”

The Broncos started the clock on rush linebacker Baron Browning on Wednesday, who's been on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. The team has 21 days to decide whether to activate him. 

It doesn't sound like a Browning activation will happen this week. Circle Week 6 for that, although safety P.J. Locke's Week 5 outlook is a lot brighter, per Payton. 

“I think P.J. is a little further along than Baron," Payton said. "With Baron, he’s got a 21-day window, and we just want to be smart. These guys have missed a lot of football reps, training camp, et cetera. We’ll go day by day. We have some goals, but I’d rather not get into those.”

In the meantime, the Broncos will go to war with the New York Jets with starters Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto, with veteran Frank Clark hopefully back on the field. The Broncos also have undrafted rookie Thomas Incoom on the roster, and inside linebacker Drew Sanders can rush the passer in a pinch. 

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