The ongoing saga between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and outside linebacker Randy Gregory added another chapter on July 23 when the recent free-agent signee did not report for training camp in Tampa, Fla. on July 23.
According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, the Buccaneers placed Gregory on the Reserve/Did Not Report list following his latest absence.
The Buccaneers hoped to add depth to their edge rushers with the addition of Gregory, who signed a 1-year contract worth up to $5 million on April 4.
“Per the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, any player who reports late or misses the start of training camp is subject to a $50,000 fine per day, plus one week’s Paragraph 5 Salary for each preseason game missed,” Laine wrote.
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. Gregory was with the 49ers through their run through the postseason and played in a 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
After Gregory was an unexcused absence from minicamp and incurred a $100,000 fine, Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles told The Sick Podcast on July 18 he was uncertain if Gregory would attend training camp.
“We have not had any conversations,” Bowles said. “I expect him to be here, but we’ll see.”
Bowles had previously expressed his disappointment with Gregory being a no-show at minicamp without so much as a phone call to his new coaches.
“It’s disappointing when anyone’s not here but we’ll deal with it,” Tampa Bay head Bowles told Laine on June 11. “We’ll deal with it. Right now, I’m only gonna coach the guys that’s here.”
Gregory Has History of Drug-Related Suspensions
Gregory’s career might have played out much differently had he been just a little bit younger.
Since being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys out of Nebraska in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft, he’s missed all of the 2017 and 2019 seasons and all but 2 games of the 2016 season due to drug-related suspensions — Gregory told The New York Times in 2021 that all of his failed drug tests and suspensions were because of his marijuana use.
In 2022, the NFL stopped suspending players for marijuana use per a new collective bargaining agreement, although players were still subject to fines for failed tests.
Gregory made news this offseason when he filed a lawsuit against the NFL and the Broncos over $532,500 in fines for positive THC tests. Gregory signed a 5-year, $70 million contract with the Broncos in March 2022 that included $28 million in guaranteed money.
Gregory alleges he was discriminated against by the NFL and Broncos after he was prescribed a drug that contains a synthetic form of THC, the main psychoactive component of marijuana, in order to treat social anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
What Will Gregory Cost Buccaneers?
Gregory’s contract contains $1.365 million in guaranteed money and as a post-June 1 cut, would cost Tampa Bay that amount in dead money, according to OvertheCap.com.
The Buccaneers drafted another edge rusher in the second round in 2024 (No. 57 overall) with 6-foot-3, 251-pound Alabama star Chris Braswell, who had 42 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 8.0 sacks, returned an interception for a touchdown and led the team with 3 forced fumbles in 2023.
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