Suffering a brutal injury with a lengthy recovery is never easy for an athlete to deal with. When it happens in the biggest game of an athlete's life – like it did for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw during Super Bowl 58 – it can profoundly impact their life and career.
After battling an injury to his right Achilles for over a month heading into the Super Bowl, Greenlaw tore his left Achilles during the second quarter of San Francisco's overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
It was a devastating end to a great season for the fifth-year pro, who spoke on Thursday about the emotions he still goes through thinking about the injury.
“Sometimes you get a little flashback and shed a couple of tears thinking about it,” Greenlaw said, per Matt Maiocco. “It’s definitely an emotional thing because you know how hard you worked for that moment, how hard your team worked to get in that moment. You’re that close to it and you can’t go out there and compete. So it just kind of feels like you left everybody hanging.
“So it's one of the things that you just kind of think about and you just try not to cry.”
Greenlaw was on the field for 12 defensive snaps in the Super Bowl, recording three tackles before exiting. He played every snap of the Niners' two playoff wins and was arguably their defensive MVP in a divisional round triumph over the Green Bay Packers.
Greenlaw finished the game with eight tackles, two pass deflections and two interceptions, including one that sealed the victory with less than a minute remaining.
Greenlaw started 15 games in the regular season, posting 120 total tackles, five for a loss, and one and a half sacks.
Niners staying patient with Dre Greenlaw
Greenlaw underwent surgery four days after the Super Bowl and faces a long road back to full health. Although some NFL players have tested the limits of returning from a torn Achilles in recent years, the Niners and Greenlaw want to be smart with his recovery timeline.
The Niners expect Greenlaw to begin the season on the physically unable to perform list. That would sideline him for at least the first four games of the regular season.
Greenlaw wants to ensure he is at full strength for the end of the season, with the 49ers anticipating another deep playoff run.
“When I feel like I can go out there and I really contribute and bring everything I got, I'm just going to do that every game,” Greenlaw said. “I don't know if it's going to be two, three, five, six, eight or 10 (games).
“But when I do get the opportunity, I'm just going to play like it's the Super Bowl every game.”
Greenlaw is entering the final season of a two-year contract extension he signed with the Niners in 2022. It remains to be seen if his days are numbered in San Francisco with potential question marks surrounding the roster as the 2024 season approaches.
Presumably, the Niners will extend quarterback Brock Purdy at some point before the 2025 season. With that comes concern regarding the team's salary cap, with rumors already floating that San Fran could shop one of their star wide receivers to free up some money.
Regardless of what the roster looks like in 12 months or even three months, Dre Greenlaw's focus is attacking rehab and getting back on the field to help the 49ers finish the job.
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