Subscribe
Follow Us
The San Francisco 49ers (6-8) have been bitten by the injury bug throughout the 2024-25 NFL campaign and are now trending toward an uncharacteristically long offseason.
Thursday's 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Levi's Stadium means that only a miraculous gift by the football gods can launch the franchise into the playoffs. There are multiple sidelined stars whose presence has been sorely missed, including Dre Greenlaw.
When fans officially eulogize the Niners' season in the imminent future, they will lament the injuries sustained by Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, and Brandon Aiyuk. But Greenlaw's importance cannot be understated.
The 27-year-old is one of the better linebackers in the NFL and a definite X-factor on San Francisco's defense. He devastatingly suffered a torn Achilles in Super Bowl 58 while running onto the field, thereby lowering the team's ceiling ever since. Greenlaw made his season debut against the Rams but seemingly incurred a setback.
How is Dre Greenlaw after 49ers' loss to Rams?
The Arkansas standout recorded eight combined tackles in his return game before exiting in the third quarter. It has been a brutal road to recovery for him, so the idea that he could be enduring another lengthy stint on the shelf is disheartening, to say the least. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is assuaging fans' worst fears, however.
“No, no,” he told reporters when asked if Greenlaw tore his Achilles again, via postgame transcripts. “He was unbelievable tonight. I think we took him off, I'm not exactly sure, but I think we took him off the first two series to start the third quarter.
“I believe he went in two plays and just couldn't get it going again and felt a little tightness and stuff. So we had to be safe with him.”
When the Niners removed Dre Greenlaw from the game, they quickly turned to 2021 First-Team All-Pro veteran De'Vondre Campbell. He stunningly refused and headed into the locker room, likely for the last time as a member of the team. In light of the 49ers' exacerbated standing in the NFC Wild Card race, Shanahan might deem it prudent to be cautious with Greenlaw.
But the fan favorite is surely eager to stay on the field after spending so much time away from the sport he loves. He has 10 days to bounce back before a Week 16 matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
