Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory signed with the Denver Broncos in the midst of one of the wildest free agency periods in NFL history. Gregory didn’t leave Texas on good terms, firing a parting shot at both Cowboys fans and ownership. Seeing Gregory depart to join Russell Wilson in Denver hasn’t had a massive impact on the Dallas Cowboys odds to win the Super Bowl. It’s a move that went relatively under the radar amid wild trades and record-breaking contracts.
Gregory made sure to grab the headlines with his comments about the Cowboys. Critical of the fans, Gregory ranted on Twitter, including a post directed at the supporters of America’s Team.
He posted, “Y’all opinions don’t pay my bills.”
When a Cowboy fan replied, claiming Gregory ‘didn’t want to be held accountable’, he continued to criticize the franchise.
The defensive end replied saying, “Your owners acted in bad faith all free agency. They’ve been awfully quiet lately huh? Wonder why… Can’t wait for you guys to ask them the same questions!”
Another fan got involved. Gregory didn’t take too kindly to the suggestion he was upset.
His reply: “Nah that’s your toxic fan base that believe I owe them and their team something lol.”
He repeated ‘toxic’ referring to the fans in a separate tweet. Several of these posts have since been deleted.
Having initially agreed to sign a five-year, $70 million deal with the Cowboys at the start of free agency, Gregory backed out of the arrangement and opted to pen the same contract with the Broncos.
It was reported by The Dallas Morning News that Gregory took exception to standard language in the contract which would allow the Cowboys to pull out if he was fined or suspended. Having suffered four separate suspensions in his time as a Cowboy, the Jacksonville native seemed to feel like this took away from security on his side.
Yet to play a full season in his NFL career since being drafted 60th overall in 2015, Denver will be hoping the former Cornhusker can find consistency on and off the field in 2022 and beyond. Gregory is coming off a career high in games played, and joint-career bests in forced fumbles and sacks. Ben Braden, D.J. Jones, Eric Tomlinson, Tom Compton, Alex Singleton and J.R. Reed were the Broncos’ other free agency signings.
For Dallas, Gregory was one of several key players to depart this offseason. Cedrick Wilson and Connor Williams signed with the Dolphins, and Blake Jarwin was released. Amari Cooper was at the center of one of several blockbuster trades – the four-time Pro Bowler will be plying his trade in Cleveland this year.
To soften the blow of losing Gregory, the Cowboys signed deals with Luke Gifford, James Washington and Dante Fowler Jr. Crucially, former All Pro Leighton Vander Esch was handed a one-year contract extension, too.
While Gregory’s social media outbursts will have upset some in the organization, and ruined any relationship he had with the fans, his departure isn’t going to define the franchise in 2022 and beyond. It is yet another example, however, of some ill-advised social media posts that can lead to unwanted
headlines and bad feelings.
*Photo by Joe Glorioso https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode