Holdouts are very common during the NFL Preseason. Some want to have bigger contracts, more prominent roles, or be able to have better control of their future. However, Todd Bowles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were faced with a peculiar situation. Randy Gregory was not offering any of these aforementioned reasons. In fact, after he sued the Denver Broncos, the Buccaneers never really got an explanation as to why he was not present during training camp.
The Buccaneers front office has officially made the call to release Randy Gregory after training camp. Todd Bowles had not seen any action involving this outside linebacker from the moment he signed, their training camps, and through two games in the NFL Preseason. When asked about the what-if situations regarding the defensive menace, Bowles was fairly glib about his answer. He even outlined that the coaching staff along with him no longer intend to know why he did not show up, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.
“I’ll never find out, but I wish him the best and we’ll move on from there. You can't miss what you never had,” he declared.
What happened to Randy Gregory after not attending the Buccaneers training camp?
The first thing is that he got fined. His contract valuation only clocked in at around $3 million. However, the fine that he received for not attending any of the mandated training camp dates is estimated to be around $1.38 million. This means that nearly half of his payslip would have gone to the pockets of the front office anyway because of his inability to attend.
Another point of concern is the vacuum that Gregory leaves behind amid the NFL Preseason. The Buccaneers head honcho posits that their faithful need not worry about their depth. He even argues that guys like Yaya Diaby, Anthony Nelson, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, and Chris Braswell would be enough in the meantime.
“The outside backer position on defense probably has the most depth out of any position over there, so we’re very comfortable with the guys we have that’s playing and that’s backing ‘em up right now. And guys that could possibly make the team,” Bowles said.
Without Gregory, the Buccaneers are still leaving an imprint on the NFL Preseason. So far, they have split their record after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars and winning over the Cincinnati Bengals. They have one more game against the Miami Dolphins before Week 1 kicks in. Will Bowles and the Buccaneers prove that they are very much capable of not needing the outside linebacker?
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