The Denver Broncos stormed free agency and came away with a trio of players considered at or near the top of their positions on the open market. Of that trio, the Broncos faced the greatest challenge in landing linebacker Dre Greenlaw.
Not because Greenlaw was not interested in the Broncos or vice versa.
Instead, his former team – the San Francisco 49ers – put forth a “last-ditch” attempt to retain Greenlaw.
Greenlaw’s adopted father, Brian Early, revealed the 49ers outbid the Broncos on Greenlaw’s three-year, $31.5 million contract. The 49ers also made a “last-ditch” effort, with general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan visiting Greenlaw after his deal.
According to Early, Greenlaw said the move was like “destiny.”
“Hey, man, you stay in San Francisco, you’re Scottie Pippen,” Early told Greenlaw, per The Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel on March 30. “And Fred Warner is MJ [Michael Jordan].”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter praised the Broncos’ free agency. He also first reported that the 49ers had made a post-signing push to retain Greenlaw even after his agreement with the Broncos was in place. However, it was unclear to what extent the 49ers went to make their attempt.
“I think they killed it. I think they, honestly, hit free agency just right. It worked out as well as it could have. The Niners were trying to get back to Dre Greenlaw even after Denver had an agreement done with him. They were pushing to get that done, and they were trying to flip his decision in this world that we live in, where people commit and there are agreements,” Schefter said on “Altitude Sports Radio” on March 17. “I think they were pretty persuasive, but not persuasive enough.
“I think Dre Greenlaw stood his ground and kind of stayed with Denver.”
Fred Warner Sends Strong Message on Dre Greenlaw Joining Broncos
GettyFormer San Francisco 49ers teammates Fred Warner #54 and Dre Greenlaw #57 celebrate against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LVIII.
Greenlaw and Warner spent six seasons together in San Francisco. The 49ers went 60-40 in that span, making the playoffs four times, going at least to the NFC Championship game and twice reaching the Super Bowl.
Greenlaw will now look to help the Broncos push beyond the Wild Card after they snapped a nine-year drought in 2024.
The latter called Greenlaw his “brother” and expects success for his former teammate.
“In my opinion, he’s just getting started,” Warner told Gabriel. “He’s still so young in this game. And unfortunately for us (the Broncos) got him at the perfect time, man, where you can expect a lot of great things from him going forward in Denver.”
“He’s, by far, one of the greatest athletes and football players I’ve ever played with,” Warner said, per Garbriel. “It was truly an honor to play alongside him.”
Warner expressed similar sentiments during Super Bowl week, so it is more than lip service.
Broncos Praised for Bolstering ‘Strength’
GettyFormer San Francisco 49ers LB Dre Greenlaw #57 celebrates against the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game.
ESPN’s Benjamin Solak offered his critique of the Broncos’ offseason, and he touted their work to improve what was the No. 2 run-stuffing unit and the No. 5 scoring group in the NFL during the 2024 regular season.
Solak cited the additions of Greenlaw and former 49ers teammate, Talanoa Hufanga (three years, $39 million), at safety among the key improvements.
“I loved: The continued building on the defense. By any metric, Denver’s defense was one of the best in football last season,” Solak wrote on March 26. “They could have basically rolled the same defense back in 2025, with only some musical chairs at linebacker with Alex Singleton back from injured reserve to replace the departed Cody Barton.
“Instead, they got aggressive, adding both Hufanga and Greenlaw from San Francisco for an additional bite of physicality and speed. Both players carry injury histories, but we know this defense can work without them. With either or both on the field, blitz packages become even more dangerous, and tackling improves from sideline to sideline. Good on the Broncos for trying to bolster a strength.”
Solak criticized the Broncos’ signing tight end Evan Engram to a two-year, $23 million deal.
However, they otherwise came away with a positive review of what was an offseason dictated by a clear and obvious plan to target top options at need positions.
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