NFL News: Dre Greenlaw, Broncos Reportedly Agree to $35M Contract After 49ers Stint

Dre Greenlaw will look to rebuild his career playing linebacker for the Denver Broncos after spending the past six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the linebacker agreed to a three-year, $35 million deal.

Greenlaw was one of the key anchors for the dominant 49ers defenses from the first five years of his career. He was a fifth-round pick out of Arkansas in the 2019 NFL draft.

The 49ers paired Greenlaw and Fred Warner in the middle of the field to form arguably the best linebacker duo in the NFL for several years. He was especially great during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, recording a total of 147 combined tackles and 10 pass breakups.

It's not a coincidence that San Francisco's defense was at its best when Greenlaw was available. He missed most of the 2021 season due to a groin injury, but returned late in the year and for all three playoff games when no team scored more than 20 points against them.

The end of Greenlaw's tenure in the Bay Area is one of heartbreak for him and the 49ers. He was part of a defense that was controlling Super Bowl 58 against the Kansas City Chiefs out of the gate when he suffered a torn Achilles running back onto the field in the second quarter.

The Chiefs attacked backup linebacker Oren Burks, with Patrick Mahomes going 9-of-9 with one touchdown and 134.7 passer rating when throwing in his direction. Kansas City defeated San Francisco 25-22 in overtime.

Greenlaw missed most of the 2024 season rehabbing from the injury. He only played two games, but showed some of the skills that made him so special with eight combined tackles in his debut against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15.

There's certainly some risk involved in this deal for the Broncos because Greenlaw has barely played in the past 12 months due to a major injury. It's impossible to know what he will look like in 2025, but the small glimpses of him last season suggested he can still be a disruptive force on the second level of any defense.