49ers may soon make Broncos regret one free-agent decision

Former Denver Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw is going to amount to nothing more than a 10-game rental for the Denver Broncos. As soon as the Broncos made his release official, the San Francisco 49ers swooped in and reclaimed their former star. 

The 49ers didn't want Greenlaw to get away in free agency last year, but the Broncos offered him a three-year, $35 million deal despite his injury history. That injury history reared its ugly head almost immediately in Denver and lingered throughout the season. 

Playoffs included, Greenlaw played in just 10 games for the Broncos. But he didn't play poorly. He registered 43 tackles, one sack, one interception and one forced fumble during the regular season. He also brought an intensity that the defense was sorely lacking for years. 

This offseason, the Broncos had a decision to cut him and save some money against the salary cap, but it seemed that the wiser decision was to keep him, as the inside linebacker position is thin, even with the re-signings of Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad. 

But the Broncos felt like moving on was the better move. The 49ers couldn't be happier, quickly jumping on their former fifth-round pick. 

Will the Broncos regret releasing Dre Greenlaw?

Many Broncos fans have been unhappy with the team's lack of pursuit of free agents from other teams since the signing period began this week. While the Broncos have re-signed many players from last season who were in need of new contracts, the one major decision they chose to make was to cut ties with Greenlaw. 

This move drew a low grade from me when it happened, and nothing has changed that opinion to this point. The Broncos have been quite contradictory with their moves. 

One can argue that the team doesn't want to rely on Greenlaw when he missed so much of the 2025 season, but why send the opposite message with J.K. Dobbins, who was quickly re-signed in free agency despite never playing a full season in his career?

You can also argue that the team wants to create additional cap space by releasing Greenlaw, but when not one major signing has taken place, that argument fails to carry any weight. 

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The Broncos don't have much depth behind Singleton and Strnad, who are both shaky starters at best. It would have been a much better move to keep Greenlaw in the mix for at least one more season. 

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