The San Francisco 49ers saw one of their key defensive players depart in free agency, as Dre Greenlaw signed a huge three-year, $31.5 million deal. Losing Greenlaw in free agency was not ideal for the 49ers, as they do not have quality depth behind him.
Greenlaw and Warner have been one of the better linebacker duos in the league and played a big part in the 49ers' making their run to the Super Bowl in 2023. Most Niners fans did not want to see Greenlaw leave, and the same could be said for the organization.
However, the 49ers did not do a great job in negotiations with Greenlaw, as they reportedly only flew out and increased their offer after the Broncos locked in on the veteran linebacker, per Luca Evans of the Denver Post.
"San Francisco, eventually, had outbid the Broncos, who'd honed in on Greenlaw to revamp the heart of their defense, Evans wrote. But the 49ers' brass only flew out — and their offer only increased — after the Broncos had already come after Greenlaw, sources said."
Despite the 49ers’ efforts to retain Greenlaw, Evans wrote that the veteran defender had already made his mind up on where he wanted to play.
"And as the 49ers parted ways with a slew of pieces in free agency, Greenlaw sensed an opportunity for a 'fresh start' with a stacked defense in Denver, agent J.R. Carroll told The Post,” Evans wrote.
In addition to Greenlaw signing with the Broncos, San Francisco continued to strip down its defense, parting ways with multiple players on the defensive line – Maliek Collins, Leonard Floyd, and Javon Hargrave.
Then, in the secondary, the 49ers also lost safety Talanoa Hufanga to the Denver Broncos in free agency (three-year, $39 million contract) and saw veteran cornerback Charvarius Ward sign with the Indianapolis Colts (three-year, $54 million deal).
Therefore, you cannot blame Greenlaw for wanting to play elsewhere in 2025. The 49ers now have a tough challenge ahead of them, as they want to compete this upcoming season after a poor showing in 2024. However, they’ll need to find a bunch of replacements in the 2025 NFL Draft and the latter parts of free agency.