Theodore Anthony Gregory (born February 11, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for one season with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Syracuse Orangemen, earning consensus All-American honors in 1987. Gregory was selected in the first round of the 1988 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos.[1] He listed his height as 6'1".[2] However, a shocked Dan Reeves, who is also listed as 6'1"[3] commented, "I'm taller than he is!" upon meeting Gregory after the draft. By Reeves's estimate, Gregory was closer to 5'9".[4]
| No. 74 | |||||
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| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | February 11, 1965 Queens, New York, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 260 lb (118 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | East Islip (Islip Terrace, New York) | ||||
| College: | Syracuse | ||||
| NFL draft: | 1988 / round: 1 / pick: 26 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Gregory had injured his knee in his last collegiate game, and the knee gave out during training camp. Following scathing criticism from the press for wasting a pick on damaged goods, the Broncos traded him to the Saints for Shawn Knight before the season.[5] He is now regarded as one of the biggest draft busts in Broncos' history.[6] After the Gregory incident the Broncos began meeting with potential draft picks prior to the draft, a practice they had not previously engaged in.[citation needed]
Gregory blew out his knee in his third game with the Saints, and never played in the NFL again. After a series of failed business ventures drained his life savings, he took a job as a construction worker, only to have that end due to a ruptured disc in his back that temporarily rendered him a paraplegic.[5] Gregory placed 8th in Deadspin's "The 100 Worst NFL Players of All Time".[7]
References
edit- ^ "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
- ^ "Ted Gregory, NT at". Nfl.com. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
- ^ "Dan Reeves Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards". databaseFootball.com. January 19, 1944. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
- ^ Pearlman, Jeff. The 100 Worst Players in NFL History, part 2. Deadspin, 2010-11-16.
- ^ a b Cimini, Rich. "Glory Days to Ugly Daze". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on April 15, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
- ^ "Biggest draft bust ever for all 32 NFL teams at". ESPN.com. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
- ^ The Bottom 100: The Worst Players in NFL History. Deadspin. Retrieved August 14, 2014.