The 49ers could have afforded to re-sign Dre Greenlaw, but he left for the Broncos anyway. It might not have been about the cash, though.
Of all the San Francisco 49ers' departures this offseason, easily the one that'll be felt the hardest in 2025 will be that of linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who left the Bay Area to ink a new three-year deal with the Denver Broncos in the opening wave of free agency.
For fans wondering how the Niners defense will manage without Greenlaw, 2024 provided plenty of evidence as he missed all but two games after suffering a devastating Achilles tear in the Super Bowl the previous February.
San Francisco's defense never truly recovered despite boasting Greenlaw's linebacking mate, All-Pro Fred Warner.
True, the 49ers have been aiming to cut costs this offseason. While there were reports and rumors suggesting they'd offered Greenlaw a one-year deal to return, he understandably wanted to chase something more long term.
However, upon seeing the details of Greenlaw's contract in Denver, it's easy to assume the Niners simply whiffed.
49ers could have afforded to re-sign Dre Greenlaw
The numbers provided by Spotrac certainly indicate Greenlaw would have been affordable from San Francisco's vantage point:
To compound the matter, Sports Illustrated's Grant Cohn elaborated on how the 49ers' player spend elsewhere could have been better directed toward retaining the standout linebacker:
"The 49ers probably offered Greenlaw a one-year deal worth significantly less than $11.5 million, which is silly considering they gave backup tight end Luke Farrell nearly $7 million per season and they gave fullback Kyle Juszczyk $4 million per season."
Fair point. While Juszczyk is a fan-favorite, it's hard to see Farrell as anything but an overpayment. Dishing out that kind of money for Greenlaw wouldn't have been difficult, and the defense will hurt because of the inaction.
That said, would it have mattered?
Dre Greenlaw likely wasn't chasing money in new deal with Broncos
Let's rewind a bit further back to the offseason when rumors and speculation began to scream Greenlaw wasn't going to return to the Niners in 2025.
According to one plugged-in team insider, The Athletic's Matt Barrows, the sentiment was Greenlaw wanted to be a true No. 1 linebacker on a depth chart:
"My sense is that Dre Greenlaw wants the opportunity to run his own shop," Barrows said last February.
While Greenlaw and Warner combined to make one of the most dynamic linebacking tandems in the league the last few years, it's reasonable to assume the former wanted to step out from beyond Warner's shadow where he had been since joining San Francisco in 2019.
To that extent, Cohn made a good point:
"In retrospect, the 49ers never truly embraced and marketed Greenlaw as a core member of their team. He rarely spoke to the media at the podium. And now he leaves with no goodbye."
Sure, Greenlaw was beloved by fans. That even won't change with him in Denver now.
But, whereas Warner was marketed as a major star, Greenlaw was definitely in the supporting cast.
He probably wanted a more prominent role, and he'll get one now with the Broncos.
