San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch has always been fond of Dre Greenlaw and hoped to keep him on the roster in 2025. However, the linebacker's injury history complicated matters, leading the team to take a wait-and-see approach regarding his market value in free agency.
That strategy seemingly backfired.
Greenlaw's market value turned out to be stronger than the 49ers anticipated. He ultimately agreed to a three-year, $31.5 million deal with the Denver Broncos.
Still, the 49ers made what The Denver Post's Luca Evans described as a "last-ditch effort" to retain Greenlaw. Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan flew to the linebacker's home in Texas to persuade him to stay, reportedly even outbidding the Broncos' offer. However, by then, Greenlaw had made up his mind—he wanted a "fresh start" in Denver.
Speaking to reporters at the NFL annual meeting in Florida on Monday, Lynch addressed that trip to Texas.
"We weren't done with Dre," Lynch said, per Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated, "but we had to go through the process, and other teams were aggressive in their pursuit of him, and we were kind of forced to be somewhat reactive. And then, when the market was set, we wanted to go have a conversation with our guy, who we have a lot of respect and love for.
"We had a good discussion with him. He made a decision, and we respect that decision. We're grateful to Dre for all the great work he did for us, and we wish him the best."
Greenlaw's injury history likely played a role in the 49ers' decision not to pursue him more aggressively from the outset. The linebacker appeared in just two games last season after a lengthy recovery from an Achilles injury, and still ended the season on injured reserve.
"And we'll see if that was a good decision or not," Lynch admitted. "I know that guy is a tremendous football player. I wish him and his family the best. It got out there that we went and saw him, but he chose to go to Denver."
Once again, Lynch named Dee Winters as a potential replacement for Greenlaw, as he did a couple of weeks ago. The 49ers are also expected to look to the draft for reinforcements.
"It's a high ask to go be Dre Greenlaw right away," Lynch acknowledged. "We have the draft, and so we'll look at all positions there. There's opportunity."
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