Mike McCarthy addresses potential for reunion with former Cowboys star Randy Gregory

One of the Dallas Cowboys‘ former star edge rusher hit the free agents market this week – former second-round draft pick Randy Gregory. The Denver Broncos opted to part ways with the veteran defender after signing him to a five-year, $70 million deal just one season ago.

Now, at almost 31 years old, Gregory is looking for another opportunity. Whether that opportunity could come from his former team remains to be seen. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy addressed the potential for a reunion ahead of the Week 5 matchup against San Francisco this weekend.

“I haven’t been a part of any of those discussions,” McCarthy said on Friday, via the Athletics‘ Jon Machota. “Obviously I thought Randy had a fine, fine season his last year here, but I don’t have anything to report on that front.”

In 2021 for Dallas, the edge rusher posted six sacks in 12 games. He also added three forced fumbles, an interception, and 17 quarterback hits. Last season for the Broncos, while battling injuries, he played in just six games, tallying two sacks with 12 tackles. In four games this season, he’s posted nine tackles with a sack and a tackle for loss.

Gregory moving on from Broncos

According to reports following the split, Denver is looking to focus more on their younger talent. If the Cowboys want Gregory largely depends on the depth chart.

Also, on Gregory’s end, and perhaps more importantly, Jerry Jones’, the two didn’t part ways on the most amicable of terms. The Cowboys owner initially stated that the edge rusher tried to increase his already agreed-upon deal, making it a deal too rich for Dallas. To that, the defender argued that he ended up agreeing to the same compensation with the Broncos, with slightly different terms.

Gregory himself responded to the comments, stating Jones was acting like he was “scorned,” and referred to an old and unusual name Jones gave to his desired pass rushers. Jones stated in 2017 that the Cowboys needed a “war-daddy” pass rusher, and the team believed at the time that they needed one in addition to Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence who were already on the team. Dallas certainly found that in Micah Parsons.

“Hell hath no fury like a scorned….owner?” Gregory wrote in April of 2022. “Mans needs to let it go and go find his war daddy already.”

Prior to those comments, Jones told reporters that he’d always root for his former draft pick.

“Sometimes your closest-in relationship becomes the most polarized quickly and lasts the longest,” Jones said. “I don’t want that to be the case here. I want him to have a lot of success, except when he’s playing the Cowboys.”