TRADE! San Francisco 49ers Acquire Denver Broncos Edge Rusher Randy Gregory

The San Francisco 49ers have added more talent to one of the NFL's deepest rosters. According to the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the 49ers are acquiring former Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Randy Gregory from the Denver Broncos in exchange for a swap of late-round draft picks.

Plot twist! The #Broncos are trading veteran OLB Randy Gregory to the #49ers, per sources.

Denver never formally released Gregory, who now gets a fresh start with a contender in San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/cswa2oKRIM
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 6, 2023

Gregory was pegged for release earlier this week, but evidently, that was premature. The Broncos never formalized terminating Gregory's contract, so the 49ers will inherit a five-year, $70 million deal signed in March of 2022. For this season, the 49ers will owe Gregory the remainder of his $1.08 million salary.

A combination of bad injury luck and poor fit made Gregory somewhat of a bust with the Broncos: he notched a mere 3.0 sacks in his 10 appearances with the team. But it wasn't so long ago he was an effective, underrated pass rusher with the Cowboys: Gregory logged overall grades of 80.5 and 78.6 from Pro Football Focus in 2020 and 2021.

Gregory will join a fierce 49ers defensive front that includes Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, and Arik Armstead. Though it's unlikely he slots in as a starter, he should land meaningful snaps as a veteran rotational pass rusher. If he excels, he could render an already potent 49ers defense all the stouter; the 49ers rank third in points allowed and fifth in net yards per passing attempt allowed through four games.