Randy Gregory, now with Bucs, fails to report for training camp

The unusual career of Randy Gregory — who spent 18 eventful months with the Denver Broncos before they traded him to the San Francisco 49ers — took another turn as training camps around the NFL got under way.

Gregory, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the offseason, did not report for training camp. He didn’t take part in the offseason, either, subjecting him to fines for the days of mandatory minicamp that he missed.

His absence from training camp also subjects him to fines per the collective-bargaining agreement agreed upon between the NFL and NFL Players Association in 2020.

RANDY GREGORY HAS AN ACTIVE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE NFL, BRONCOS

Gregory filed a disability, employment and discrimination lawsuit against the NFL last month. The suit, filed in Arapahoe County, names the Broncos as a defendant.

In the lawsuit, Gregory alleges that the Broncos and NFL are in violation of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act because the NFL prevented him from taking a prescribed medication — Dronabinol — to treat social anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, two conditions for which Gregory has received formal medical diagnoses.

Gregory played 10 games for the Broncos over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, recording three sacks. The Broncos signed him in the 2022 offseason despite the fact that he needed surgery to repair a rotator-cuff injury, forcing him to miss the entire offseason.

He returned for Week 1, but suffered a knee injury five games later against Las Vegas and didn’t return until Dec. 18, 2022. That comeback ended after two games, following the Broncos’ Christmas Day 2022 meltdown against the Los Angeles Rams, a game that saw Gregory commit two penalties — for unnecessary roughness and roughing the passer — and then get into a fight during postgame handshakes with then-Rams offensive lineman Oday Aboushi.

“Y’all wanna know if I hit him in the mouth? I did,” Gregory said in the locker room after that 51-14 debacle, adding that Aboushi hit him back. The NFL fined both for the scuffle.

Randy Gregory didn’t play again but returned for 2023. However, he quickly fell out of favor, leading to the trade. Three months later, after ESPN analyst Ryan Clark described Sean Payton’s behavior as Broncos coach as “unacceptable,” Gregory responded to an Instagram post with the quote, writing, “All facts.”

But Gregory appeared to find his footing and some peace after being traded to the 49ers. And while he didn’t appear to be a fan of the Broncos coach, his sentiments regarding general manager George Paton were different.

“I think me and him got a real good relationship,” Gregory said in February. Another guy I have a lot of respect for him in that building.

“I wish I could still be out there with him, but I’m happy to be here now.”

The 49ers didn’t bring him back for 2024, but the Buccaneers re-signed him — in part because they had a need necessitated by the release of Shaquil Barrett, who retired over the weekend.

But now they’re playing the waiting game on the ex-Bronco.