The Broncos separated from Von Miller at the trade deadline, moving the top pass rusher in franchise history for second- and third-round picks. That trade helped the Broncos assemble their Russell Wilson package, but Miller was interested in coming back to Denver this offseason.
After alerting the Broncos he would be interested in returning if they were to acquire Wilson or Aaron Rodgers, Miller — long stuck on Denver teams with bottom-tier QBs — did not hear from his longtime team in free agency. That led the future Hall of Famer to Buffalo, after offers emerged from the Rams and Cowboys. Dallas’ edge-rushing plans factored into Denver’s, with Randy Gregory‘s decision to spurn his former team leading the Cowboys to make Miller an offer.
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Gregory being nearly four years younger than Miller factored into the Broncos’ approach. Denver was also linked to Chandler Jones in free agency, but it made Gregory its top OLB target, Troy Renck of Denver7 notes. Jones is 32; Miller is 33. Gregory is not exactly on the young side for a first-time free agent, at 29, but the oft-suspended pass rusher certainly does not have the wear and tear on his body other edge players at his age generally do.
The Broncos gave Gregory a five-year, $70MM deal. While locking down the off-and-on Cowboy is a risk, due to Gregory’s unavailability history and recent injuries, the Broncos have him at $14MM per year. Gregory’s fully guaranteed money ($28MM) ranks just 24th among edge defenders. Gregory staying healthy would likely make Denver’s deal a bargain, but he will not go into training camp at full speed.
Rehabbing offseason shoulder surgery, Gregory will be a limited participant during the first week of Broncos camp, Mike Klis of 9News notes. The team is planning to ease its big-ticket edge acquisition into action, and Klis adds Gregory is not expected to play in the preseason. Teams have become increasingly more willing to sit starters during the preseason, and Gregory being sidelined until the Broncos’ Sept. 12 opener will give him a near-six-month recovery window.
In addition to the shoulder malady, the former Nebraska talent missed 2021 time because of calf injury and underwent knee surgery — to address an underlying problem — shortly after the season ended. As Bradley Chubb‘s 2021 recently illustrated, a two-surgery year is cause for concern. But the Broncos are planning to have Gregory ready to go when they face the Seahawks in Week 1. Gregory, Chubb, Malik Reed, second-rounder Nik Bonitto and relocated inside linebacker Baron Browning represent one of the NFL’s deepest edge-rushing corps. But the team’s top two cogs here are coming off injury-affected seasons and/or offseason surgeries.