Getty San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Randy Gregory pressures Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LVIII.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have added a high-profile outside linebacker to the defense.
The Buccaneers announced on April 3 on the team’s official X account that they’d agreed to terms with outside linebacker Randy Gregory, an eight-year veteran.
Gregory started 2023 with the Denver Broncos and finished the season with the San Francisco 49ers after Denver traded him for two late-round draft picks in 2024.
We’ve agreed to terms with OLB @RandyGregory_4 💪
Gregory Has Checkered History in NFL
Gregory has a well-documented history of off-field struggles since the Dallas Cowboys selected him out of Nebraska in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft.
In Feb. 2016, the NFL suspended Gregory for four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, followed by a 10-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy in Sept. 2016.
Gregory played in the final two games of the regular season but failed another drug test and was suspended for the 2016 postseason and the entire 2017 season. Gregory played in 2018 then was suspended indefinitely for violating the league’s substance abuse policy in Feb. 2019 and missed the entire 2019 season.
Gregory returned to the Cowboys in 2020 and had a breakout year in 2021 with a career high 6 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.
Broncos Delivered Huge Payday for Gregory in Free Agency
The Denver Broncos delivered the payday of a lifetime for Gregory in March 2022, when they signed him to a five-year, $70 million contract with $28 million in guaranteed money.
Gregory only played six games for the Broncos in 2022 because of a knee injury. He played in four games with Denver in 2023 before he was traded to San Francisco, where he played 10 regular-season games and three postseason games, including an overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
The Buccaneers released outside linebacker and two-time Super Bowl champion Shaquil Barrett on March 13 and Barrett signed a free-agent contract with the Miami Dolphins on March 18.
“The fact that Gregory is still playing in the NFL reflects positively on his commitment, as he incurred four substance-abuse suspensions in the 2010s,” wrote ProFootballRumors.com’s Sam Robinson. “And the NFL changing its policy toward a more lenient stance on recreational drugs. While he has moved past this chapter of his career, the former second-round pick will need to show he can remain healthy.
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