Football coaches are usually consistent when they comment on players who don’t show up to training camp. They’re concerned about the guys who are there working out and practicing.
That was the opinion Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles had with defensive back Randy Gregory, who reached an agreement with the team. To be released This week, Gregory never showed up to training camp or attended mandatory minicamp practices after filing a discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and the Denver Broncos.
If that’s the reason Gregory never showed up, it doesn’t matter to Bowles because he was never told whether the linebacker’s absence was motivated by his lawsuit.
“I’ll never know, but I wish him the best and we’ll move on from there.” Bowles told ESPN’s Jenna Laine“You can’t miss what you never had.”
Bowles went on to explain that the team has depth at outside linebacker, including players who could still make the team, and should be fine without Gregory.
Bucs coach Todd Bowles on the pass rush: “That’s the only good thing we saw on defense. Obviously, there were a lot of missed tackles in the run game. I’m not happy with that. I’m not happy with third down, but we got 5.0 sacks. It doesn’t count in the loss, but the young guys…
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) August 18, 2024
Gregory, 32, signed A one-year free agent contract with the Buccaneers in April. Last season, he played in 12 games for the San Francisco 49ers after being traded by the Broncos. He had 3 1/2 sacks and 20 tackles, six tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits.
Tampa Bay hoped Gregory could bolster an offense that totaled 48 sacks last season, tied for ninth among NFL teams. (Yaya Diaby led the team with 7 1/2 sacks.) The defense lost linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who was released as a result of a salary-cap cut, and had 4 1/2 sacks in 2023. (Barrett ultimately retired before training camp with the Miami Dolphins this summer.)
In demandGregory claimed he was being discriminated against by not being allowed to continue taking a THC-containing medication to relieve social anxiety and PTSD. Players who test positive for THC are no longer suspended by the league, but can be fined since it remains on the NFL’s banned substances list.
In total, Gregory missed 24 days of training camp and three mandatory offseason practices. He was fined nearly $1.4 million for those absences. The Buccaneers can also recoup a percentage of his signing bonus, according to ESPN.