The San Francisco 49ers reportedly plan to activate linebacker Dre Greenlaw ahead of Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Rams, according to Ian Rapoport.

The 49ers lost Greenlaw to a torn Achilles in the Super Bowl last year against the Kansas City Chiefs. The San Francisco defense was getting ready to take the field, and while jumping in excitement, Greenlaw tore his Achilles. He has been working his way back, will ease his way back into playing games against the Rams on Thursday, according to Rapoport.

The 49ers came into this season with high hopes, as with the Greenlaw injury, they were still stacked on paper. However, they have lost a number of close games and have dealt with injuries to players like Brandon Aiyuk, Nick Bosa, George Kittle and even Brock Purdy at times. It should be refreshing for the 49ers to receive positive injury news as they prepare to fight for their playoff lives, even though Greenlaw will likely not have an expansive role in the gameplan. Hopefully, he will be ready for increased snaps in games moving forward, especially if San Francisco sneaks into the playoffs.

49ers look to keep playoff hopes alive against rival Rams

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At 6-7 with four games left, the 49ers need every win they can get down the stretch this season. Defeating the Rams, a division rival that is one game ahead of them at 7-6 and a direct competitor for a Wild Card spot as well, would be huge.

The 49ers will likely have to chase down the Washington Commanders who sit at 8-5 and hold the last Wild Card spot in the NFC. They will need help in that department, but the best thing the 49ers can do is win out. That will be tough to do, with games against the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals approaching after this Rams matchup, but that is the task at hand.

San Francisco can undoubtedly compete with the Dolphins and Cardinals, but the Lions seem like the best team in the NFL and they would like to get revenge for the NFC Championship last season. It is also unfortunate that there are no more matchups with the Seattle Seahawks, as that is the team the 49ers would have to pass to win the NFC West. The two teams split the two matchups they had this season. It will be interesting to see how the 49ers fare down the stretch with Greenlaw in the fold.