National Football League

Buccaneers release Randy Gregory after he failed to report to training camp

Published Aug. 18, 2024 8:51 p.m. ET

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released edge rusher Randy Gregory after he failed to report to training camp.

Coach Todd Bowles said Sunday that the team cut Gregory after he had been put on the reserve/did not report list on July 23 for not showing up to camp. Bowles said he never found out why Gregory skipped camp.

"No, I never found out," he said. "I wish him the best. We'll move on from there. You can't miss what you never had."

The 31-year-old Gregory, who's also played for the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers, signed a one-year, $3 million contract in free agency. However, he did not participate in the Bucs' voluntary offseason program or attend the team's mandatory minicamp this summer.

Gregory filed a lawsuit against the NFL and the Broncos in June claiming discrimination over being fined $532,500 for taking medication containing THC for disabilities during his brief time in Denver.

In the complaint, Gregory said he was prescribed Dronabinol for social anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders but was denied accommodations to treat those disabilities with that medicine.

The NFL no longer suspends players who test positive for THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical responsible for most of marijuana's psychological effects, but it remains among the league's banned substances. Players who test positive are subject to fines.

The Broncos are named in the lawsuit although teams don't have any role in the fining of players who violate the league's drug policies. The NFL and NFLPA's substances of abuse policy is collectively bargained and administered by a jointly appointed third-party medical professional.

Gregory has been fined $532,500 for repeated positive THC tests since March 2023, according to the complaint. The lawsuit contends the league's and club's resistance to providing Gregory accommodations due to his disabilities is discriminatory under Colorado law.

Gregory was a second-round draft pick of the Cowboys in 2015. He played five seasons with Dallas, where he was suspended numerous times for violating the NFL's drug policies. He signed with Denver in 2022 but missed most of that season with a knee injury. He split the 2023 season between the Broncos and San Francisco 49ers, who acquired him in a trade in October.

Gregory has appeared in 72 games over seven NFL seasons. In addition to 22 career sacks, he has 27 tackles for loss and 69 quarterback hits.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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