Kyle Shanahan doesn't rule out Randy Gregory playing on Sunday night
As the 49ers prepare to play the Cowboys, it would be fitting for the 49ers to trot out former Cowboys pass rushing Randy Gregory.
Meeting with reporters on Friday, San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan did not rule out the possibility of Gregory playing in the Sunday night showdown.
Asked about that possibility, here's what Shanahan said: “I don't want to give our secrets away. There's a chance.”
That said, Shanahan's general explanation of Gregory's timeline suggested that he will go back to Denver and return to the 49ers on Monday. Which means he's not likely to play
Regardless of when he plays, what attracted the 49ers to Gregory?
“Just playing against him over our career, two years ago when we played him up there in Dallas, he was as good of a rusher as we’d gone against," Shanahan said. "And just the fact that we had an opportunity that he was available, being able to add a guy like that, we feel he'll make our team better and so we didn't hesitate to do it.”
The 49ers got Shanahan for a flip of sixth- and seventh-round picks. They'll pay him the prorated veteran minimum, with the Broncos on the hook for the balance of Gregory's prorated $14 million guaranteed salary.
"That's why we felt extremely good about it, especially making the trade for it, just having to flip the sixth and seventh and not hurting anything money-wise," Shanahan said. "So we felt fortunate to add on our team.”
Gregory apparently feels fortunate to land with one of the best teams in the NFL.
"He seems fired up," Shanahan said. "Our team's fired up. Even the guys that didn't know him, they're aware of him from playing against him. I know how excited our O-line was when they found out too.”
The key to having a dominant defensive line includes having a rotation of up to eight players who can get it done. The 49ers have another one in Gregory, who replaces Kerry Hyder in that rotation.
