49ers Rumors: Dre Greenlaw Lands 2-Year, $19M Contract with More Than $10M Guaranteed

The San Francisco 49ers and linebacker Dre Greenlaw reached a two-year contract extension worth nearly $19 million before Sunday's win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the deal carries more than $10 million in guarantees.

Greenlaw, a 2019 fifth-round pick, was heading into the final year of his rookie contract. After making $4.9 million over the course of his first four seasons, Greenlaw will now double that amount in guarantees alone in 2023 and 2024.

"It's a blessing," Greenlaw told ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "I'm just thankful for this organization, thankful for everything. Just kind of just let some stress off you knowing that if you get hurt, you don't have to worry about much. You just play until you can't play no more. So, that's really the relief that I got."

The Arkansas product proved himself to be an instant draft steal, starting 22 games over his first two seasons before being limited to three games in 2021 due to a groin injury. He has racked up 13 tackles (two for loss) over the 49ers' first two games of this season.

Provided he stays healthy, locking up Greenlaw should be a value contract for San Francisco, which will have a number of decisions to make about the future of players in the offseason. Jimmy Garoppolo's long-term status with the franchise will once again be thrust into the spotlight in March after he took over for an injured Trey Lance on Sunday. Lance is expected to miss the rest of the season due to an ankle injury.

For Greenlaw's part, he said he preferred the security of staying with the 49ers to testing his value on the open market.

"You want to get as much money as possible but at the end of the day, you want to be happy where you're at," Greenlaw said. "You want to be with a good organization, you want the security, you want to be wanted, all that good stuff. So, I was just in the best position of just being here with the organization and there's really not anywhere else I'd rather be."