John Lynch Explains Why the 49ers Didn't Re-Sign Dre Greenlaw

It sounds like Lynch is saying that the 49ers simply don't expect Greenlaw to stay healthy at this point in his career

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

PALM BEACH -- This offseason, the 49ers lost the heart of their defense, Dre Greenlaw.

They clearly insulted him with their initial offer, the Denver Broncos gave him a much better deal, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan desperately flew out to Greenlaw's home to try to beat Denver's offer and change Greenlaw's mind but he signed with the Broncos, anyway. Yikes.

On Monday, Lynch was asked about Greenlaw. Here's what Lynch said.

Q: What went into your trip with Kyle to meet with Dre Greenlaw? Were you surprised by how quickly he reached a deal? Did you feel you had to scramble to reel him back in?

LYNCH: "No. As I mentioned, it was a complicated case because he's such a game-changing player. There are not many needle-movers in football. He's a needle-mover. It's hard. The same thing happened to me in Tampa. Mike Shanahan was fine to take me after I had some surgery on my neck because he hadn't watched all the carnage go on, but the Bucs were kind of done with me. We weren't done with Dre, but we had to go through the process, and other teams were aggressive in their pursuit of him, and we were kind of forced to be somewhat reactive, and then when the market was set, we wanted to go have a conversation with our guy who we have a lot of respect and love for. We had a good discussion with him. He made a decision and we respect that decision. We're grateful to Dre for all the great work he did for us and we wish him the best."

Q: You guys had an opportunity to do something with him beforehand.

LYNCH: "We did. And we'll see if that was a good decision or not. I know that guy is a tremendous football player. I wish him and his family the best. It got out there that we went and saw him but he chose to go to Denver."

Q: What is the plan to replace Greenlaw?

LYNCH: "Dee Winters is somebody who has been mentioned. We like a lot of what Dee does, but he has to show that he can fill those shoes and really just be the best version of himself. It's a high ask to go be Dre Greenlaw right away. We have the draft and so we'll look at all positions there. There's opportunity."

MY TAKE: It sounds like Lynch is saying that the 49ers simply don't expect Greenlaw to stay healthy at this point in his career, which is fair. They might be right. But if that's how they feel, why did they go crawling back to him at the last minute to try to bring him back to the team on a three-year deal?

It sounds like the 49ers don't actually know what they want to do.