It was one heck of a chaotic Tuesday for Randy Gregory, the Denver Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys.
It made for what the Broncos' newest pass rusher called a "crazy week."
Gregory was introduced for the first time as a Denver Bronco on Friday, officially signing his contract to join the team. It came three days after he had initially agreed to a deal to return to the Cowboys, but had a change of mind and went west to the AFC.
The pass rusher did not delve into any explanation as to the details of his about-face on Friday, he just admitted to the craziness and that it was worth the wait to arrive in Denver.
"It's been a really crazy week," Gregory said, via the team transcript. "I know there's a lot of finer details that you want to talk about. That's really something Peter [Schaffer], my agent can handle at this point. But for me, being here with the Denver Broncos makes this whole week worth it. It's been crazy -- even the last 48 hours trying to get this deal hammered out. But it's been worth the wait. My family is happy. I believe the Broncos are happy. I'm happy. So [I'm] really looking forward to the future."
On Tuesday, the Cowboys announced they had agreed to terms with Gregory on a new five-year contract, but moments later Gregory spurned his old club and agreed to a five-year, $70 million deal with his new club -- the Broncos.
It was the latest mega transaction for Broncos general manager George Paton after working out a trade with the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson. But Paton admitted Friday he thought Gregory had gotten away.
"We thought he was going to the Cowboys," Paton said. "You win some and you lose some. We thought we lost him. We woke up in the morning and felt a lot better once we realized he was coming back. These things happen in free agency, you know. It happened to us this year. It happens. You just role with the punches. You don't overreact and you don't get too emotional. It was an emotional room when he came back. I can tell you that."
It happened more than once this free agency, as Gregory kicked off a bit of a theme with running back J.D. McKissic agreeing to a deal with the Buffalo Bills and then signing with the Washington Commanders (essentially the opposite of Gregory) and linebacker Za'Darius Smith agreeing on a deal to play with the Baltimore Ravens before changing his mind and remaining a free agent.
