ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Randy Gregory is headed out of town… again.
Two days after news broke the Broncos planned to release Gregory, the team found a trade partner in the San Francisco 49ers. The two teams will swap picks in 2024—the Broncos get the 49ers’ sixth-round pick and the 49ers get the Broncos’ seventh-round pick—but the Broncos will also gain more cap space.
Gregory’s entire 2024 salary was guaranteed. He had $10.9 million remaining for this season. The Broncos will retain all but $840,000 of Gregory’s salary by converting it to a signing bonus. The 49ers will pay the remainder, which means the Broncos will save $840,000 in both cash and cap space by trading Gregory instead of cutting or keeping him.
Since the portion the Broncos retain is converted to a signing bonus, most of the money won’t hit the Broncos’ salary cap until next year. In the NFL, any space under the cap is rolled over to the next season, so this doesn’t make any tangible difference.
The Broncos initially signed Gregory to a five-year, $70 million contract in March 2022. The deal essentially worked as a two-year, $28 million guaranteed deal, with three club options worth $14 million per season. The 49ers will now take on the remainder of the contract with $14 million in each of the next three seasons. None of the money is guaranteed. Gregory is a very likely cut candidate after the season, barring a breakout in the remainder of the season that convinces the 49ers he’s worth $14 million in 2024.
With Gregory out of the picture, the Broncos will turn to Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper at outside linebacker. The duo started on Sunday in Chicago, with Gregory coming off the bench for his first appearance in the second drive of the game. Cooper and Bonitto combined for 3.5 sacks. They also tied the game, when Bonitto strip-sacked Justin Fields and Cooper recovered the fumble and returned it for a touchdown.
Gregory played 10 games for the Broncos and started six of them. He had four tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles.
Broncos Final Cap Hits for Randy Gregory:
2022: $5.6 million
2023: $7.726 million
2024: $13.845 million
Broncos Cash Paid to Randy Gregory:
2022: $14 million
2023: $13.16 million
49ers Cash and Cap Hits for Randy Gregory:
2023: $840,000
2024: $14 million (not guaranteed)
2025: $14 million (not guaranteed)
2026: $14 million (not guaranteed)
Broncos 2024 Draft Picks:
Round 1 (own)
Round 3 (better of own or Saints)
Round 4 (own or Dolphins, unclear which)
Round 5 (own)
Round 5 (Jets)
Round 6 (49ers)
Head coach Sean Payton explained why the team decided to move on from Gregory on Wednesday.
