Randy Gregory has change of heart, will not sign for Dallas Cowboys

Edge rusher Randy Gregory was reportedly going to be re-signing with the Dallas Cowboys on a five-year contract, staying with the franchise after his breakout season. However, there may have been a change of heart, with Gregory now reportedly signing with the Denver Broncos.

According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, despite there being an agreement in place between Dallas and Gregory, he received a text saying the pass rusher was heading to Denver. Gehlken also reports that the Cowboys are trying to work through the situation but the Broncos are now in a good position.

“Not so fast on Cowboys re-signing DE Randy Gregory,” Gehlken said via Twitter. Text from Broncos source moments ago: “We got Randy.” Cowboys are still working through situation; there is still uncertainty on Gregory’s decision, source said. But Broncos very clearly in mix, if not the decided winner already.”

Gregory was set to sign a five-year deal with Dallas, valued at $70 million. According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Denver has the same deal in place and will sign Gregory. After being drafted by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2015 draft, Gregory will now be playing NFL football somewhere other than Dallas for the first time in his career.

As to why the original deal fell through, Ian Rapoport says the Cowboys’ front office wanted to make a slight change to the wording of the contract after everything was agreed upon. Upsetting Gregory, he decided to sign the exact same contract with the Broncos to play in the AFC West instead.

“And so it’s the Broncos — not the #Cowboys — that are in agreement with Randy Gregory,” Rapoport said via Twitter. “My understanding is Dallas insisted on contract language that Gregory did not like protecting themselves. So he heads to Denver.”

After a rocky start to his career that included multiple suspensions, Gregory’s put together a couple of solid seasons for Jerry Jones’ squad. He really broke out this season as an edge rusher, posting six sacks, four tackles for a loss, and 17 quarterback hits. Alongside DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons, Gregory was a part of a revamped pass rush under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

Now he will be joining a Denver Broncos team that is going all-in on winning a championship. Trading for quarterback Russell Wilson has been the biggest move so far this offseason. Signing Gregory adds another key pass rusher to get after the great quarterbacks their division has to offer in Derek Carr, Patrick Mahomes, and Justin Herbert.

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this report