I’m back baby and ready to talk about whatever the hell Buccaneers linebacker Randy Gregory is doing. Yes, even in the wilds of the London countryside, I have been following what Randy Gregory is doing. Yes, I know it’s old news, but I still want to talk about it. Plus, I haven’t much else to talk about.
Gregory wasn’t exactly a very highly touted signing for the Bucs. Because, let’s face it, he isn’t the dominant force he once was. Ever since signing with the Broncos, his production has fallen off a cliff. When he can be on the field, he isn’t as effective and him being on the field was a challenge. That being said, there are certainly worse depth pieces for the team to have signed. And as unlikely as it may be, it is possible he can be a good player again in a limited role. I bring all this up to set up why all this drama is completely absurd for a player of his caliber.
It all started with the announcement he is suing the league. Wait, what? Yeah, Randy Gregory has gone on record about how he has had struggles with his mental health and was given medicine to help deal with social anxiety disorder and PTSD. The problem is that the medicine he was prescribed has THC, which is a banned substance by the league. He tried several times to get an exemption for it, but the league refused. Because of this, he sued the league for discriminatory practices against him.
And now Gregory is ignoring the Buccaneers. He did not show up to a single OTA for the Bucs, and as far as anyone can tell, he was not excused. Gregory has been fined $100k for his absence and it is unclear why he skipped them. There is a good chance it is related to his mental health, but to skip OTAs for a new team, especially for a player of his stature is a bad look.
At this point, I think I am ready to be done with him. I was quite satisfied with his signing, not happy, but not mad. On paper, it seemed like a perfect depth piece while Braswell developed. But this baggage is getting annoying and is distracting from practice. If he isn’t going to show up for practice and training camp, he doesn’t deserve a roster spot.
