The San Francisco 49ers made headlines on Friday, trading for Denver Broncos veteran pass rusher Randy Gregory. Head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the media following the afternoon practice session, shedding light on what prompted the 49ers' interest in Gregory.
"Just playing against him over our career," Shanahan responded. "I mean, two years ago, when we played him up there in Dallas, as good of a rusher as we've gone against. And just the fact that we had an opportunity, that he was available, being able to add a guy like that, we feel he'll make our team better, and so we didn't hesitate to do it."
Gregory underwent a physical assessment in Santa Clara today. The pass rusher is returning to Denver to spend time with his family and gather his belongings. He is set to rejoin the 49ers on Monday after the team's Week 5 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
This means Gregory won't be in uniform this weekend. However, Shanahan jokingly refused to rule out the possibility.
"I don't want to give our secrets away. There's a chance," the coach said in jest.
On Saturday, San Francisco will make a corresponding roster move, most likely releasing a defensive lineman.
Were there any reservations within the 49ers organization about bringing Gregory on board, considering his previous off-the-field issues?
"You look into all that stuff, always, but you always judge a guy when you get to know him, and it's our first time to do it," Shanahan said. "But also, there's a lot of people I know really well that speak extremely high of him, and it's very consistent. So I'm excited about the person we got, the character of the guy, from what I've been told from everyone who knows him, and we love the tape.
"I know he's messed up at times in the past, but from the type of person I've been told that he is, we're really excited to have him here."
