At least he's got a positive attitude...
http://www.syracuse.com/orangefootba...ves_the_b.html
Steve Gregory, still an NFL free agent, believes the 'best years of my career' are coming up
Ex-Syracuse football defensive back Steve Gregory (28) would like to play a few more seasons in the NFL.
By Nate Mink |
nmink@syracuse.com
on April 02, 2014 at 3:55 PM
Syracuse, N.Y. — Steve Gregory is back in the area, occasionally working out at a local YMCA in between shuttling back and forth to Boston. His father lives in Baldwinsville, the in-laws live 15 minutes outside Utica, and Gregory and his wife are expecting their first child June 21, daughter Aviana.
Life is good for the ex-Syracuse defensive back. But Gregory is also living in the kind of football limbo he did not see coming last month when he was released by the New England Patriots for salary cap reasons.
A month from the NFL Draft, Gregory is still available on the free agent market and believes his best playing days are ahead of him following a career season with the Patriots.
"A lot of things I hear, there's speculation that I might be too old at 31, which is in my mind, I think it's absolutely crazy," Gregory said by phone Wednesday afternoon.
"I'm the healthiest I've ever been in my career. I'm just as athletic as when I first started out. I know the value I have. The experience I gained over the years makes me that much more of a player. Playing time and experience has really changed my game and evolved it to the point where I feel like I can have some of the best years of my career coming up, so I think those type of values are what teams should be looking at as opposed to just a number in age."
An eight-year NFL veteran, Gregory has not been offered a contract since the Patriots cut him last month. He said his agent, David Canter, "has been in touch with pretty much every team" but many are continuing the evaluation process of going through team needs while figuring in the accounting to stay under the salary cap. Draft day, Gregory said, could be the next period when talks intensify.
"I don't really have the magic crystal ball that says a specific date for when teams are going to start looking for more veterans and more guys who are on the free agent market," Gregory said, "but it can happen at any moment."
Gregory said the Patriots have not approached him about returning to New England under a restructured contract but said "it would definitely be a place I would love to go back to."
"I don't think it's something that they don't want to do," Gregory said. "I loved it in New England. I got really close with the team and the coaches, and I really enjoyed my time out there." Gregory signed a three-year deal with the Pats in 2012 and would have counted $3.68 million against the cap for 2014.
Gregory would like to play a few more seasons in the NFL. Without any contract offers, however, he doesn't have leverage to decide where to play, a bit of an inconvenience with a newborn on the way.
"There's a fine line there as to what kind of contract you will take or you won't take," Gregory said. "Ultimately I want to be playing in the NFL next year. I'm sure I'd be willing to take something that is going to get me on the field."
He spent the past two seasons with the Patriots and is coming off a season in which he racked up a career-best 79 tackles for the AFC runner-up.
Gregory, a Staten Island native, starred at Syracuse from 2002-05, where he switched from the secondary to wide receiver his junior year only to return to the secondary as a senior. He left the school ranked third on SU's career passes defended list with 40, third on the pass break-ups record chart with 34 and tied for second with five blocked field goals.
Gregory spent his first six NFL seasons with the San Diego Chargers. He has appeared in 111 games and recorded 357 tackles, seven interceptions, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries — including the touchdown on the infamous "butt-fumble" by former Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.
"I feel like I have a lot of value and I'm surprised that I haven't been signed already," Gregory said. "But, you know, teams have their own agenda and ways of doing things. Last time I became a free agent I signed on the second day of free agency. This time around it's more of a waiting game.
"I've always been kind of a believer and I don't really try to dwell on too many things that I can't control. This is just one of those that I really can't control, so for me it's more working out and waiting."