In the wake of his Buccaneers release officially taking place on Thursday, Randy Gregory‘s NFL career may well be over. The veteran edge rusher is expected to retire, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 notes. 
Gregory joined the Bucs in April after his brief stint with the 49ers to close out the 2023 campaign. He was dealt to San Francisco following the end of his highly underwhelming Broncos tenure. A five-year, $69.5MM Denver contract signed in 2022 only resulted in three sacks across 10 games played. The Tampa Bay deal represented an opportunity for a fresh start, but it did not work out.
The former second-rounder signed for $3MM, and his Buccaneers pact included a $1.3MM roster bonus. Since Gregory never reported to the team, though, Tampa Bay was in position to collect that payment. The bonus has indeed been paid back, per Greg Auman of Fox Sports. Between never keeping that money and the $50K in daily fines he accumulated, the Nebraska product’s financial situation was notably worsened during his (essentially) non-existent Tampa Bay tenure.
In June, it was learned Gregory filed a lawsuit against the Broncos and the NFL after being fined more than $500K for the use of a prescription medication containing THC. No developments on that front have taken place in recent months, but today’s news points to Gregory’s ability to add to his career earnings coming to an end. The cause for his ongoing absence remains unknown.
Entering the NFL as a Cowboys second-rounder, Gregory’s most productive season came with Dallas in 2018 (six sacks). The early portion of his career was marred by suspensions, though, and four substance abuse bans left him sidelined for the 2017 and ’19 campaigns. A deal seemed to be in place to remain with the Cowboys in 2022, but that agreement was soon replaced the Broncos one which included the same terms.
If Gregory, 31, does indeed hang up his cleats he will depart the league with 78 combined regular and postseason games to his name. His career earnings check in at roughly $33MM. It would come as a surprise if teams showed interest in him as a free agent given the nature of his Buccaneers exit.
Well it doesn’t seem like he was about to be offered any more bridges to burn.
He is gonna be burning a lot of Blunts with all the spare time he will have.
This guy is always involved in a lot of drama. Best of luck to him, he had talent coming out of college and showed some nice moments in the pros. But it will definitely be a relief not hearing him brought up all the time in the nfl, with what he said, and what’s going on, and how he’s gonna try to be great, and if he gets the chance.
Doesn’t want to play football. Would rather smoke weed. What a piece of work this dude is. When his money runs out he’s gonna regret this decision.
Larry Sanders of the NFL
I was gonna be an NFL star, but then I got high
I was gonna take my career far, but then I got high…
Pretty sure the phone wasn’t going to ring after the last stunt.
Some would say he’s been retired since he left the Cowboys three years ago.
Who could have seen this coming?
A: Who is everybody Alex?
He’ll be living under an overpass within 5 years.
And he’ll be crying about how racist and unfair the NFL is. He’s useless, just like most dopers.
If he’s living under an over pass at least he’s still living
Being in a perpetual state of stupidity is living? This guy just threw away millions of dollars because he’s stoned all the time. When he finally does come down he’s going to say, “I did what, and lost how much?” Been around potheads and there’s no ambition to speak of, then they cry because they don’t have anything. Guy wants to be the poster child for lazy, stupid dopers he’s almost there
Or he could move to Oregon with the 33 million he made and live the best life…