Source: 49ers add to defensive front by trading for Randy Gregory
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers’ relentless pursuit of a premier defensive front prompted them Friday to trade for pass rusher Randy Gregory, a league source confirmed.
Gregory fell out of favor with the Denver Broncos, who were on the verge of releasing him earlier this week. Instead, the 49ers swooped in to acquire him and a 2024 seventh-round draft pick in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round pick, ESPN reported.
The deal comes just two days before the 49ers (4-0) host the Dallas Cowboys, who were Gregory’s initial team from 2015-21 before he left in free agency last year for the Broncos’ higher bid.
As part of the five-year, $69.5 million contract he signed with the Broncos, he’s owed a $14 million base salary this season, of which the 49ers will have to pay a prorated portion of nearly $10 million.
The 49ers entered Friday with $40 million in salary cap space, having recently restructured the contracts of Trent Williams, George Kittle and Arik Armstead.
Gregory, 30, played in just 10 of 21 games with the Broncos, starting just six and totaling only three sacks. His Cowboys’ tenure was impacted by multiple suspensions for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy — he did not play in 2019. He totaled 16 1/2 sacks in 50 games for Dallas.
The 49ers began this season by signing Nick Bosa to the richest contract in NFL history for a non-quarterback (five years, $170 million), and that came after they spent big in free agency to sign defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (three years, $39 million).
Hargrave’s three sacks share the team lead with Drake Jackson, who got all three of his in a season-opening rout at Pittsburgh. The 49ers overall had five sacks in Week 1, but just four combined in their three ensuing victories.
Bosa has just one sack, along with Fred Warner and Kerry Hyder Jr.
“We are hitting the quarterback quite a bit. We just have find a way to translate those into sacks,” defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said Thursday. “I like where those guys are. One of the things that I emphasize and talk about as well, I think they’re solid in the run game, and that’s what I look for, that’s what we look for in the complete player, particularly at the defensive end.
“Yes, we want them to be able to put pressure and get to the quarterback, and I think they’re doing that at a high level,” Wilks added, “but I love right now how stout they are in the run game as well.”
Bosa expressed similar confidence Wednesday in the 49ers’ pass rush and his potential to get more sacks, having set a career high last year with 18 1/2 sacks in route to NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.
“We’ve had some games we’ve had some really good defensive line performances the past three games,” Bosa said Wednesday. “If we keep building off of that, they’re going to come.”
Now Gregory is coming, too.
Check back for more on this developing story.