OLB Randy Gregory Sounds Off on Living Up to Broncos' $70M Expectations
Randy Gregory's knee injury suffered early last season called into question the wisdom of Denver Broncos GM George Paton's decision to roll the dice on the talented but often absent rush linebacker. When he's on the field, the 30-year-old former Dallas Cowboys pass rusher is a disruptive force when he's healthy and firing on all cylinders.
Gregory would be the first to admit to his struggles in fending off the injury bug throughout his career, but he has worked hard to rehab and make it back into tip-top shape in time for the Broncos' 2023 regular-season kickoff. Living up to expectations is one of his priorities.
"It's always been big for me," Gregory said via Aric DiLalla of the team website earlier this week. "I think my thing is fulfilling my end of the agreement, and a big part of that is being able to be available and be healthy... I truly feel like if I'm out there for 17 games-plus, I'll do what I need to do. And that's the plan."
Entering Year 2 of his five-year, $70 million contract, the Broncos being able to benefit defensively from Gregory's skill set will depend on his health. On Wednesday, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph could barely hide his excitement about having Gregory's versatility back in the lineup and how it fits within his vision for the unit.
“It fits perfect," Joseph said. "Obviously, you just want good players in any system you have, [whether it’s] 3-4, 4-3, or whatever you are talking about front-wise. You want rushers. Randy is an elite rusher. His best days are ahead of him, hopefully, but he is having a solid camp. He’s getting better every single day. He’s made some splash plays in the running game. That’s been surprising to me, but he is what you want.”
Like all great pass rushers, there's more to Gregory's game than just putting heat on opposing quarterbacks. As Joseph noted, Gregory can be a force against the run, and setting a strong edge is always worth its weight in gold in the NFL.
Gregory's rangy length and ability to shed blockers make him an ideal type of perimeter defender in the run game. Furthermore, if Gregory can succeed in forcing runners back inside, it should allow veteran linebackers Josey Jewell and Alex Singleton to feed.
However, despite his struggles with the injury bug, and the necessary energy Gregory has had to invest into rehabbing from last year's knee injury, he claims he hasn't lost his explosiveness. But he has worked to strengthen his lower body to withstand the war of attrition that is the NFL's 17-game schedule.
"Just being able to make sure my legs are strong enough to withstand the year and at the same time have the right weight, right mass, right strength — things like that," Gregory said. "I think I've done a good job of that. I still have my explosiveness and everything like that, so heading into the year, I feel pretty good."
Having experienced linebackers like Jewell and Singleton mopping up at the second level is a blessing for Joseph, but when the 'Bash Bros' aren't on the field, it puts more pressure on the guys closest to the line of scrimmage, like Gregory.
Being in a position to call on veterans who can communicate well on the field is a luxury, and it's helping to facilitate the seemingly seamless installation of Joseph's new system. Gregory is one of those guys, along with the field generals in the middle of the defense.
The players' familiarity with former Vic Fangio's battle-tested schemes undoubtedly helps, but so does the availability of talented, high-impact players like Gregory. Part and parcel of getting and staying healthy is mastering the mental demands, which often comes down to cultivating the right mindset.
"Everyone wants to get tied up on the physical; the big thing for me this offseason is getting the mental [aspect] down," Gregory said. "Being able to fight those little mental battles. You're going to have bad plays — put them behind and move on to the next one."
Speaking of plays, Gregory was on the field for 10 snaps in the Broncos' first preseason game. For preseason Game 2 vs. the San Francisco 49ers, head coach Sean Payton put the snap target for first-teamers between 20-24, though there's no guarantee Gregory will be on the field for all of them.
But we saw how ex-head coach Nathaniel Hackett's abundance of caution last summer — keeping starters out of the entire preseason — impacted player health. Payton's philosophy is the antithesis: expose the starters to the intensity of live-bullet preseason reps to build that figurative callus early and often.
It'll be interesting to see how Payton's outlook is reflected in Gregory's game minutes on Saturday in Santa Clara, CA .
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