The Broncos and Cowboys aren't exactly rivals on the field, but they might be now after the drama that went down Tuesday involving Randy Gregory.
In one of the most bizarre situations you'll ever see involving a free agent, the Cowboys appeared to have Gregory under contract, but then the Broncos pulled the rug out from under them in a situation that ended with Denver landing the former Cowboys defensive end. Not only that, but the Broncos put an exclamation point on things by sending out the perfect tweet to close things off.
Let's take a look at the brief timeline of events involving Gregory and Denver's closing tweet:
At 10:32 a.m. ET, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport sent out a tweet saying the Cowboys were close to getting a deal done with Gregory.
The #Cowboys are expected to sign their own pass-rusher Randy Gregory to a deal around $13M per year, source said. The deal isn’t done yet. But it is headed that way.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 15, 2022
By 11:01 a.m. ET, that deal was basically done.
Feeling Kinda RANDY:
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) March 15, 2022
Randy Gregory will remain with the #Cowboys for the foreseeable future, agreeing to terms on a five-year deal worth $70 million -- beating back multiple teams to keep him in tandem with All-Pro DeMarcus Lawrence.
DETAILS ⬇️ https://t.co/XgR9r1JrE3
At 11:20 a.m. ET, it seemed pretty clear that the deal was done because THE COWBOYS TWEETED ABOUT IT FROM THE TEAM'S OFFICIAL TWITTER ACCOUNT.
The Cowboys have since deleted a tweet that reported Randy Gregory was returning to Dallas. Reports now suggest he is signing with Denver. pic.twitter.com/TZiYM8fOkE
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) March 15, 2022
Of course, that tweet from the Cowboys has now been deleted and the team will likely be spending the next two weeks trying to erase its existence from the internet because of what happened next.
So why did the Cowboys need to delete it? Because the Broncos swooped in and stole Gregory in a deal that was first reported on Twitter at 12:04 p.m. ET.
Sources;
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) March 15, 2022
Randy Gregory signing with the @Broncos!!
Not the @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/P6k96RMUfp
The Broncos then confirmed things just 14 minutes later when they sent out the perfect tweet.
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) March 15, 2022
Very good tweet and we're not just saying that because they used a Stephen Colbert GIF. I'm guessing the Cowboys were definitely surprised.
According to CBSSports.com's Patrik Walker, the Cowboys' deal with Gregory fell apart because Dallas tried to change some of the contract language at the last second. The Cowboys had originally agreed to a five-year, $70 million deal with Gregory that included $28 million in guaranteed money, and in a twist, that's the exact deal Gregory ended up landing from the Broncos.
If you're wondering how the Broncos were able to steal Gregory, it's simple: No deal is official until the new league year starts at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. This means that any player can back out of any deal even if they've already agreed to terms and that's exactly what Gregory did. He had yet to sign a contract, so the Cowboys couldn't make him stay.
For more details on the drama, be sure to check out our story on Gregory by clicking here.