Denver Broncos linebacker Randy Gregory should soon return to the field.
That is the good news. The bad news is that the season is almost over and for the Broncos, the season is over for all intents and purposes. Still, Randy Gregory has returned to practice and could be back in the lineup for the first time since a knee injury sidelined him in early October.
Gregory was the team’s big free-agent signing this offseason, agreeing to a 5-year, $70 million deal and spurning the Dallas Cowboys in the process. This was a move that I loved when it was made as the Broncos were getting a disruptive piece on defense, one that I felt could allow them to move on from Bradley Chubb.
The team did trade Chubb but it wasn’t due to the great play of Gregory. Now, when Gregory was on the field this season, he did look good, but it was a small sample size.
He had two sacks in four games before going down with the injury.
Gregory is still on injured reserve and he has 21 days to practice with the team before the Broncos will have to decide whether or not to activate him off IR. However, it sounds like there is a chance he could return this Sunday when the team hosts the Arizona Cardinals.
If and when Gregory returns to the field, he needs to do so with motivation and focus, ready to show the organization and Broncos Country that he is a player that the team can count on going into next season.
Gregory needs to be the team’s primary pass-rusher going forward now that Chubb is gone and at 30 years old, he should still have some good football left in him.
Broncos linebacker Randy Gregory needs to change reputation of being unavailable
He has been a player who has earned a reputation for being unavailable for various reasons in his career (injuries, suspensions) and that is one that he needs to flip the script on.
General manager George Paton has caught a lot of criticism for how bad this season has gone and Gregory could soon start to look like another bad decision should he either not come back this season or underperform when he does.
Gregory needs to prove that he was worth the deal and there is only one way he will do that — by sacking the quarterback, forcing turnovers and being a menace on an already good defense.
That is what he was paid all that money to do.