Randy Gregory 'Messed Up!' - But San Francisco 49ers 'Excited' to Trade for Dallas Cowboys Ex Pass-Rusher
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Francisco 49ers engineered a cheap but notable move heading into Week 5 of the NFL season with the Friday acquisition of former Dallas Cowboys pass-rusher Randy Gregory.
And while CowboysSI.com has reported that Gregory - dumped by the Denver Broncos in this trade - will not play against Dallas on "Sunday Night Football'' here in the Bay Area - 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is nevertheless excited about what Gregory might bring in a positive way ...
While also speaking frankly and cautiously about what Gregory might bring in ways that are not so positive.
Kyle Shanahan and Randy Gregory - 49ers vs. Cowboys
"I know he has messed up at times in the past,'' Shanahan said honestly. "But from the type of person I’ve been told that he is, we’re really excited to have him here.”
"Messed up'' is one way to describe Gregory's turbulent times in Dallas, with team owner Jerry Jones and the organization having opted to guide him and wait on him over the course of seven seasons marred by behavioral issues and substance abuse suspensions ... and then being stunned two years ago when Gregory wrongly thought Dallas' free agent offer to retain him included some "special'' clause regarding his behavior.
The clause was in fact standard. But Gregory nevertheless balked and took a similar five-year, $70 million deal in Denver, where he is considered a massive bust, having recorded just three sacks over the course of two years.
The 49ers jumped in line, stopping the impending release from the Broncos, exchanged late-round picks, got Denver to pick up $10 million of the tab (the Niners are responsible for a minimum $840,000 portion of the 2023 salary) ... and now hope he can help.
“You look into all that stuff always,'' Shanahan said of Gregory's background. "But you always judge a guy when you get to know him ... There’s a lot of people I know really well that speak extremely high of him and it’s very consistent.
"So I’m excited about the person we got, the character of the guy, from what I’ve been told from everyone who knows him. And we love the tape. ... Being able to add a guy like that, we feel he’ll make our team better and so we didn’t hesitate to do it.''
