April 5, 2026, 11:26 a.m. PT
Last offseason, after six years with the San Francisco 49ers, linebacker Dre Greenlaw left for a three-year deal with the Denver Broncos. However, just one year later, he’s back with San Francisco for the 2026 season.
While the reunion has been great, Greenlaw recently appeared on former NFL offensive tackle Terron Armstead’s “The Set” podcast and shared that he never thought he’d end up with the 49ers at all.
“My brother asked me, ‘What team do you feel like you’re not going to?’ I said, ‘I know I’m not going to San Fran.’ He said, ‘Why do you think that?’ Because during the combine, when I tell you, they ripped me apart,” Greenlaw explained. “I’m talking about they ripped me apart. Everybody’s in there, Shanahan is on the other side of the table, ‘Did you watch film in college?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘Did you watch enough film?’ And I’m like, I’m talking about just like grilling me on just like, ‘Do you feel like this could have been better? Do you feel like this? What happened right here? What happened right there with this and that? Why did you miss this game?’
“When I left out of there, I think they gave me a backpack or something, and I don’t even think I grabbed the backpack. I looked at DeMeco Ryans. I was like, ‘Alright, dawg.’ I was like, yeah, I know why they canceled, boy. I was like, yeah, they ain’t going there. I was like, yeah, I’m not going to San Fran. It was just based on that, and I ended up going there, bro. So it was a blessing in disguise, man. Crazy.”
The decision worked out for both sides, as Greenlaw appeared in 64 games and started 56 for the 49ers in their six seasons together while recording 455 tackles, 14 passes defensed, nine quarterback hits, 3.5 sacks, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
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San Francisco and Greenlaw hope they can recapture that magic in 2026.
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