Can Randy Gregory Play A Full Season Again?

Depth is important at any position in the NFL. The Bucs now have it in droves at outside linebacker after bringing Randy Gregory on board.

Tampa Bay has YaYa Diaby, Randy Gregory, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson as the four experienced outside linebackers atop the depth chart. Markees Watts, an undrafted free agent last year, had flashes last year in a limited role and could break into that group this season. Jose Ramirez, a sixth-round pick in 2023, spent last season on the practice squad and is also waiting in the wings.

But do the Bucs have too many players at the position?

Certainly not.

If any of those top four edge rushers go down, the Bucs will be forced to rely on a player with very little experience in Watts – or none in Ramirez’s case. What might be for the better though is if a player such as the 31-year old Randy Gregory only plays a limited amount of snaps. Gregory certainly has talent, but he’s missed a lot of games either due to injuries or suspensions earlier in his career.

Randy Gregory Has Struggled To Suit Up For An Entire Season

Outside of his missed time due to some suspensions, it’s been a multitude of injuries that have slowed Randy Gregory down going all the way back to his college playing days. At Arizona Western College, Gregory broke his fibula, which forced him to miss all of the 2012 season. As a rookie with the Cowboys in 2015, he got injured in the first game of the season with a high ankle sprain and immediately missed the next four. The next season, Gregory was suspended for 14 games and wasn’t eligible to play until December and only participated in two games.

Bucs OLB Randy Gregory – Photo by: USA Today

The 2017 season was completely derailed by another suspension and he didn’t play the whole year. That was the case again in 2019, followed by getting suspended for the first six games in 2020.

With all of his suspensions behind him in 2021, the injury bug unfortunately returned as he was put on injured reserve with a calf injury and missed five games. A knee injury caused Randy Gregory to miss time and the Broncos didn’t activate him for a while. He was also suspended for a game for fighting against an opponent. In all, he played in only six games that year.

It took until the 2023 season for Randy Gregory to finally play a full 17-game season between the Broncos and then getting traded to the 49ers. Being available week in and week out was a special accomplishment for him.

“As athletes, we always go in with certain goals we want to achieve, whether that be our career or the upcoming season,” Randy Gregory said on Thursday. “My biggest thing was being able to play a full season. Like you said, I haven’t played a full season in the league. I’ve only played one full season in college.

“Whether it be suspensions or injuries, something played an effect. To be able to play a full year and not only that, but obviously getting to the Super Bowl – it was the most games I’ve played in my whole entire football career ever since I could remember. That was my biggest goal. I felt like if I could finish the year healthy and go into the next year healthy, obviously that would be good for my future. I hope I can do the same and finish out my career in a healthy way and in a winning way.”

Randy Gregory Looks To Find Comfort In A New Place

Even with his goal achieved, it wasn’t the easiest season for Randy Gregory. While he did go to a much better team in a trade to the 49ers, ultimately playing in this year’s Super Bowl, and moving to a new city during the season had a big impact on him.

Bucs OLB Randy Gregory – Photo by: USA Today

“It’s definitely not easy for me – I’m big on comfortability,” Gregory said. “To have to make that switch in the middle of the year and essentially not finish my end of the deal with Denver was tough. Obviously, going to a new spot was tough, too. My biggest thing was being able to go there and kind of integrate myself in a non-threatening way and [be] as organic as I can make it. Like I said earlier, make plays where I can and help out when I’m not out there.

“It was tough, but it was fun at the same time. Some of those guys are some of the best players in the league and I got a chance to play with [them]. As a kid, I always dreamed about obviously making it to the NFL and making it to the Super Bowl, so to be able to say I experienced that is big. Obviously, I wanted to get the win, but hopefully I can do that this year upcoming with Tampa Bay.”

Predicting what kind of season Gregory will have with the Bucs is quite difficult at this moment. Training camp will decide whether he’ll be starting, used as a designated pass rusher or even the first player off the bench in certain rotations and packages. But having stability in one place with the hope of playing another full season leaves generates some excitement about what Gregory and the Bucs can do in 2024.

“I think, obviously, you guys have had success here over the past few years,” Gregory said. “We have a great team right there, set up to make another run. That’s what I intend on doing – trying to help in that way.”