49ers' Dre Greenlaw Shares Eye-Opening Recovery From Achilles Tear

Dre Greenlaw finally feels like himself again, but it took a long time for that to happen.

Oct 8, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) during the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Watching Dre Greenlaw tear his Achilles in Super Bowl LIV was gut-wrenching. It didn't matter what team you were a fan of or if you were a fan at all.

To see any player suffer a significant injury like that on the grandest stage after they worked so hard to get there is devastating. It changed the course of that game for the San Francisco 49ers.

And the course of Greenlaw's career. He wound up recovering from his torn Achilles by returning in 2024 to play in Week 14. However, in that game and the following one, his body wasn't right.

It made you wonder if he was even fully fit after his Achilles tear. Turns out that was the case. After Day 2 of 49ers OTAs, Greenlaw was asked when he finally felt like his Achilles tear was no longer an issue for him.

Greenlaw is finally past his Achilles injury

Feb 6, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) during a press conference before Super Bowl LVIII at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"I kind of felt like that throughout the Denver season," Greenlaw said. "I kind of got adjusted to the normal. Probably about midway, once I got back from rehabbing the quad a bit, I kind of felt like I could go and practice, I could warm up, and I didn't have to worry about any pain or nothing. I ain't got to worry about what shoes I got on.

"Last year is when I first felt like, for at least a week or two or multiple days in a row straight, 'Alright, I'm good to go now.' So, I've been feeling great with my Achilles ever since."

This is eye-opening to hear from Greenlaw. Achilles tears take 9-to-12 months for a player to return to action.

And while Greenlaw successfully hit that timeline, it didn't mean he felt fully normal yet. That's just the timeline for when the Achilles is okay to handle the stress of playing sports.

There's also the mental aspect of it. Suffering a torn Achilles, or even a torn ACL, makes it tough to trust that injured foot or leg. So much time is needed to work on that trust again.

Otherwise, what ends up happening is that athletes begin to overuse the opposite healthy leg. That's when another significant injury occurs because of how overworked the healthy leg is.

That might've been why Greenlaw's quad was giving him problems last year in Denver. Thankfully, now, Greenlaw is feeling normal again. He's able to put his Achilles tear behind him.

The 49ers will be able to get the best version of Greenlaw moving forward.

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