San Francisco 49ers star linebacker Dre Greenlaw missed almost the entire 2024 season after sustaining a torn Achilles in the Super Bowl a year ago. He was able to return to start two games in December but could not finish either. Not surprisingly, the 49ers defense struggled for most of the season.
Greenlaw played just one half in his first game back before leaving with another injury. And he looked like the player fans remembered in that half, recording eight total tackles. The defense looked more like itself in that half, as well.
The former Arkansas Razorback played only four snaps in his second start before leaving the game. He recorded one tackle in those four plays but did not play for the rest of the season. And now, as Greenlaw prepares for free agency, many wonder where he will play next season.
On Friday, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area joined the "Papa and Silver" show on KNBR radio. The 49ers reporter was asked what he thinks about Greenlaw's future.
"Yeah, I mean, it's just hearing Nick Bosa talk to Robert Saleh soon after Saleh became the defensive coordinator again," Maiocco said. "He (Bosa) told my colleague, Jennifer Lee Chan...that Saleh is adamant, that's the word he used, adamant, that he wants to re-sign Dre Greenlaw.
"So there are a lot of forces in that locker room, and on the coaching staff, and in the 49ers front office who are angling to get Dre Greenlaw back. What his options are going to be in free agency certainly remains to be seen because of all the injuries that you outlined. I just don't know what that market is going to be for him."
Nearly everyone in Santa Clara wants Greenlaw to return to the 49ers. All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner has been vocal about the team bringing him back. Bosa has mentioned it. Saleh has, as well. Certainly, the fanbase wants Greenlaw back. The San Francisco defense is not the same without him. But no one knows what his market will be like once free agency begins.
"And so then it becomes, where can he go or stay and have a good season and kind of reestablish himself as a top-flight NFL player," Maiocco continued. "I mean, I'm of the personal opinion that it would be much easier for him on a one-year deal to return or stay with the 49ers because he knows the system, he knows the building, he knows the players around him. And I would think that that would be a really good option if he doesn't get a multi-year contract and the money that goes along with it.
"I would think that it would be a much easier sell for him to remain with the 49ers and have a good season rather than going somewhere else and hoping to have a good season not knowing exactly how the pieces fit with the new team and then you know give it another run next season. But we'll see. I still think the 49ers will make a run at him, and I think it'll be really difficult for him to go somewhere else..."
The best case for the 49ers and Greenlaw appears to be for him to return to San Francisco. It makes sense that Saleh would be adamant that GM John Lynch bring back Greenlaw. However, a few questions remain: What will the linebacker's market be like when free agency opens on March 12? What will it take to keep him with the team? And will the 49ers be willing to pay it?