Broncos trade LB Randy Gregory to 49ers

The Denver Broncos are trading veteran pass rusher Randy Gregory to the San Francisco 49ers, the team confirmed on Friday.

As part of the transaction, the Broncos will also send San Francisco a 2024 seventh-round pick and receive a 2024 sixth-round pick in return.

Gregory's trade to San Francisco comes days after it was reported Denver was waiving him, but the team never formally released the 30-year-old.

Cutting Gregory was "Something we felt was just best for our team right now timing-wise,'' head coach Sean Payton said Payton said via ESPN Wednesday.

"It hasn't been finalized because, typically, before a transaction takes place, there may be some teams interested in a trade," he added.

Gregory signed a five-year, $70 million contract with the Broncos last offseason. He received $14 million guaranteed last year and another $14 million guaranteed this year on his 2023 base salary, according to Spotrac.

The Broncos didn't exactly see a high return on investment there, as he played 10 games and had three sacks over two seasons.

As the Broncos pay Gregory roughly $10 million for the rest of this season, he will reportedly get the veteran minimum of $840,000 from San Francisco through the end of the year, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.

Gregory spent the first seven years of his career with the Dallas Cowboys, who drafted him in the second round in 2015. He provided limited production for the Cowboys when he was on the field, but several drug-related suspensions caused him to miss the entirety of the 2017 and 2019 seasons as well as most of 2016. His most productive season came in 2021, when he recorded six sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception.

After that season, the Cowboys appeared to re-sign him to a five-year deal, but he later backed out of it due to disagreements with language in the contract and signed with Denver instead.

San Francisco will clash with his former Cowboys on Sunday. Gregory has already passed his physical for the 49ers, according to Pelissero.