When it was announced that San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw was signing with the Denver Broncos , the heartbreak was felt through the fanbase. The 2024 season saw Greenlaw play very little due to rehabbing an Achilles injury he suffered in the Super Bowl. The result was a near-season-long vacancy as sidekick to Fred Warner and the 49ers, as the team struggled to stop the run without Greenlaw to punish poor ball carriers.
Plus, it’s Greenlaw. Losing him just sucks.
The 49ers have turned to
Dee Williams, a 2023 sixth-round pick, and after three games, it seems like letting Greenlaw walk was the right move—as painful as it is to say and admit that. Winters has been a heat-seeking missile for three games straight, flattening any poor ball carrier in his zipcode, just like Greenlaw did two years prior. If there were no numbers on the jerseys, you could be fooled into thinking that he was Greenlaw. In the 49ers’ 16-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Winters had eight tackles, four of which were solo, one quarterback hit, and one pass defended. The stats don’t do him justice; he was flying around the field.
And at this point, it’s safe to say the 49ers have found a sidekick to Fred Warner. And if Williams can even give 75 percent of what Greenlaw had, it’s a win. One, because that’s how good Greenlaw is, and two, Greenlaw has yet to suit up for the 2025 season.
It gets worse: Greenlaw was placed on injured reserve Saturday, which means he has to sit out another four games before he can return. The injury stems from a pair of quad injuries in the offseason—one in the spring and another at Broncos training camp.
No one wants to see this happen, especially to a player like Greenlaw. The facts are that if the 49ers were saddled with that $31.5 million contract he signed with Denver in the offseason, it could have been another injured player and more salary cap money to figure out.
Instead, they turned to Williams. Since comparing Williams to 2024 Greenlaw isn’t possible, I instead took Winters’ three games to start the 2025 season and compared them to Greenlaw’s first three games of the 2023 season:
Through the first three weeks, Greenlaw had 22 tackles (14 solo), one pass defended, and one quarterback hit. One tackle was for a loss.
Williams: 22 tackles (15 solo), one pass defended, and two tackles for a loss.
Those are pretty similar numbers. And something the 49ers didn’t have in 2024. Winters has a slightly higher snap count (which helps him get more stats), but beyond that, the two are similar in usage as well.
Now, the above is not the greatest comparison to make. Greenlaw’s first three games in 2023 were the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Rams, and New York Giants, while Winters had the Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, and the Arizona Cardinals.
Regardless, that type of production was something sorely missed in 2024 while Greenlaw rehabbed his injury. In fact, many (myself included) said the absence of Greenlaw was one of the (many) factors influencing the underwhelming 49ers defense in 2024. Winters was on the roster in 2024, but he didn’t play anything like what we’re seeing now. Which also might be a credit to Robert Saleh, but we’re getting off-topic.
The point is, the 49ers either could have tried to throw money at Greenlaw, especially after knowing how much they needed him, even though the goal was to get some cap space. Instead, they let him walk and got someone putting together a similar production whose cap number in 2025 is just over $1 million.
It’s disappointing the 49ers couldn’t get something worked out with Greenlaw. But when you see what they are getting from Winters for a fraction of the cost, you can’t help but praise the front office for making the right (and difficult) call to see what Winters has. And despite comparing numbers, the fact that Winters has played and Greenlaw won’t until Week 7 reinforces that they made the right move.
Winters’ rookie contract runs through 2026. They selected Nick Martin in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and if Winters keeps playing like he is, Martin could provide valuable depth. Assuming the 49ers can figure out how to keep him after 2026, of course.
