Bucs sign Randy Gregory, an outside linebacker, to a one-year contract.
The experienced edge rusher, who has been with the 49ers, Broncos, and Cowboys, is added by Tampa Bay. Last month, Shaquil Barrett was released to relieve the salary cap.
TAMPA — Shaquil Barrett’s replacement, veteran outside linebacker Randy Gregory, was signed by the Bucs on Wednesday for a one-year contract.
The majority of 2023 saw the 31-year-old edge rusher with the 49ers as a rotational player. Gregory finished the previous season with 12 regular-season games with San Francisco, eight quarterback hits, four tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Gregory had five total tackles during the 49ers’ postseason run, including one for a loss.
In March 2022, Gregory agreed to a five-year, $70 million contract with Denver. Rather than fulfilling the terms of his contract, he was sent to San Francisco after losing out on starting positions to Nik Bonitto and Jonathan Cooper.
Barrett was cut by the Bucs last month to relieve the salary cap. Yaya Diaby, a rookie, headed the outside linebacker group that Gregory now joins.
With the Cowboys, Broncos, and 49ers, Gregory played in 72 games over the course of seven NFL seasons and recorded 22 sacks, 69 quarterback hits, and 27 tackles for loss.
The Cowboys selected Gregory in the second round of the 2015 draft, but his off-field problems resulted in bans in 2017 and 2019. The NFL placed him on indefinite suspension in February 2019 for breaking both the terms of his conditional reinstatement from the 2017 ban and the league’s drug usage policy.
Following his reinstatement once more in the 2020 season, Gregory has not experienced any problems.
