:Ted Gregory

{{Short description|American football player (born 1965)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Ted Gregory

| number = 74

| position = Defensive tackle

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|2|11}}

| birth_place = Queens, New York, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 1

| weight_lb = 260

| high_school = East Islip {{nowrap|(Islip Terrace, New York)}}

| college = Syracuse

| draftyear = 1988

| draftround = 1

| draftpick = 26

| pastteams =

• Denver Broncos (1988)*
• New Orleans Saints ({{NFL Year|1988}})

| highlights =

• Consensus All-American (1987)
• First-team All-East (1987)
• Second-team All-East (1985)

| statlabel1 = Sacks

| statvalue1 = 1.0

| pfr = GregTe20

}}

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.{{Cite web |title=1988 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1988/draft.htm |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He listed his height as 6'1".{{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/players/tedgregory/profile?id=GRE792318 |title=Ted Gregory, NT at |work=Nfl.com |date= |access-date=2010-11-23}} However, a shocked Dan Reeves, who is also listed as 6'1"{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=REEVEDAN01 |title=Dan Reeves Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards |publisher=databaseFootball.com |date=1944-01-19 |access-date=2010-11-23 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023032035/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=REEVEDAN01 |archive-date=2012-10-23 }} commented, "I'm taller than he is!" upon meeting Gregory after the draft. By Reeves's estimate, Gregory was closer to 5'9".Pearlman, Jeff. [http://deadspin.com/5690560/the-bottom-100-the-worst-players-in-nfl-history-part-2 The 100 Worst Players in NFL History, part 2]. Deadspin, 2010-11-16.

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.{{cite web|last=Cimini |first=Rich |title=Glory Days to Ugly Daze |url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/1998-04-12/sports/18063018_1_nfl-sal-ciampi-sleep |work=New York Daily News |access-date=21 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415080753/http://articles.nydailynews.com/1998-04-12/sports/18063018_1_nfl-sal-ciampi-sleep |archive-date=April 15, 2011 }} He is now regarded as one of the biggest draft busts in Broncos' history.{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/32for32x170413/biggest-nfl-draft-bust-evers-all-32-teams-all-flops-modern-era|title=Biggest draft bust ever for all 32 NFL teams at |work=ESPN.com |date= 13 April 2017|access-date=2017-04-13}} 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|date=April 2015}}

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. Gregory placed 8th in Deadspin's "The 100 Worst NFL Players of All Time".[http://deadspin.com/5690560/the-bottom-100-the-worst-players-in-nfl-history-part-2 The Bottom 100: The Worst Players in NFL History]. Deadspin. Retrieved August 14, 2014.