{"id":72474,"date":"2025-07-30T21:52:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T21:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=72474"},"modified":"2025-07-30T21:52:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T21:52:00","slug":"dre-greenlaw-opens-up-about-leaving-the-49ers-in-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=72474","title":{"rendered":"Dre Greenlaw Opens up About Leaving the 49ers in Free Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Almost every free agent who departed the San Francisco 49ers this offseason was easy to stomach.<\/p>\n

However, the one free agent the 49ers are kicking themselves for letting get away is linebacker Dre Greenlaw. They underestimated his market.<\/p>\n

So when the Denver Broncos offered him a deal, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan immediately flew to Greenlaw with an offer and a plea.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it was too little too late. Greenlaw elected to sign with the Broncos, making the 49ers pay for underestimating his value.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Greenlaw spoke publicly for the first time since joining the Broncos, where he opened up about leaving the 49ers in free agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy, of course, but they wanted me,\u201d Greenlaw said. \u201cThroughout the whole time I was talking to Sean, there was no ifs, ands, buts, maybes, this or that. It was like \u2018Man, we want you to be here.\u2019 I was a foster kid growing up, so it\u2019s not a lot of times people just wanted me, you know what I\u2019m saying? It just made me feel special, it made me feel like this is the place where I needed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

All Greenlaw wanted out of the 49ers was for them to show him that they wanted him. It wasn\u2019t until the Broncos approached him that the 49ers sprang into action.<\/p>\n

Doing so was a sign of disrespect to Greenlaw. Had the 49ers been proactive and not reactive, it\u2019s likely Greenlaw would remain.<\/p>\n

Instead, the 49ers have a gigantic question mark at the linebacker position outside of Fred Warner. He surely would\u2019ve loved for Greenlaw to have remained.<\/p>\n

However, the 49ers thought the market would show Greenlaw his value was low. Then, the Broncos came in with an offer that surprised the 49ers.<\/p>\n

There is the aspect of Greenlaw wanting to be the No. 1 linebacker, which surely has truth to it. But given Greenlaw\u2019s comments, it seems all the 49ers needed to do was get to him first.<\/p>\n

Of all the free agents that left the 49ers this offseason, Greenlaw is the one whom they will look back on with regret for not re-signing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to be where I was accepted, where I was wanted, and this was the right place for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Almost every free agent who departed the San Francisco 49ers this offseason was easy to stomach. 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