Why the 49ers Needed to Let Dre Greenlaw Play

It may be perceived as foolish for the 49ers to let Dre Greenlaw play in meaningless games, but there was a good reason for it.

January 20, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) celebrates after defeating the Green Bay Packers in a 2024 NFC divisional round game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Beloved linebacker Dre Greenlaw has played his last snap in 2024 for the San Francisco 49ers.

On Thursday, coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed the 49ers will not play Greenlaw in their final two games this season. Shanahan hinted at this move on Monday via a conference call that the 49ers are leaning towards keeping Greenlaw shut down for the year. Greenlaw had to exit the game against the Miami Dolphins after four snaps due to calf soreness, making it back-to-back games he was forced to leave.

The knee-jerk reaction might be to criticize the 49ers for allowing Greenlaw to play against the Dolphins. Once they lost to the Los Angeles Rams in his debut game, there became zero point in playing him further since the games were meaningless. That point only emphasizes after Greenlaw had to exit in the middle of the Rams game.

So, why continue to put him out there and leave him at risk? It seems to be a common theme from the 49ers. They played Christian McCaffrey heavily and played Trent Williams on an injured ankle that worsened. However, Greenlaw's situation is vastly different from anyone on the 49ers. For starters, Greenlaw is a fiery player. If he is good to go, the 49ers have to let him play.

But above all else, he's worked tirelessly to get back into playing shape from his torn Achilles. The heartbreak of going through that in the middle of the Super Bowl is something he wants to bury. The only way to do that is by getting back on the field and playing. It benefits his mental and emotional state so much by doing that. He needs this for himself.

"I think it's been a battle and a hard deal to get back," said Shanahan. "I think he was real emotional in his first game or even his first few practices, just being able to make it and I think it's been a huge success so far just the fact that he's gone to this point. I know when we told him he wasn't going to go back in anymore, he was pretty emotional there because I know how bad he wants to go in and how bad he wants to move on from this."

There is also the factor of him being an upcoming free agent. Greenlaw needed to showcase that he could still play at a high level. I believe he's demonstrated that and has increased his value more than if he were to not have played this year. Yes, there is the detraction of him not managing to play a full game, but further time off can dissipate that concern.

Overall, it was the right move for the 49ers to let Greenlaw play. He needed it for himself for multiple reasons and raised his value. Also, if Greenlaw was a player who had years left on his contract, the 49ers would have had a stronger case for not allowing Greenlaw to return this year. It was the right move to let him try to play and it worked out for the most part.

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