San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw suffered a torn Achilles in the team’s Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs back in February, a devastating blow for a crucial member of the 49ers’ defense.
Not that there is ever a good time to get injured, but you can’t imagine a worse moment for it to occur than in the Super Bowl.
Greenlaw still gets emotional when thinking about it.
“Sometimes you get a little flashback and shed a couple of tears thinking about it,” Greenlaw said, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Greenlaw was a pivotal part of San Francisco’s defense in 2023, playing in 15 regular-season games and racking up 120 tackles, 1.5 sacks and four passes defended.
“It’s definitely an emotional thing because you know how hard you worked for that moment, how hard your team worked to get in that moment,” Greenlaw said. “You’re that close to it and you can’t go out there and compete. So it just kind of feels like you left everybody hanging.”
The 26-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Arkansas, was selected by the Niners in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
He immediately established himself as a key pierce, registering 92 tackles, a sack and an interception during his rookie campaign.
Greenlaw posted similar numbers in 2020 before injuries limited him to just three contests in his third season. Then, in 2022, Greenlaw broke out, rattling off 127 tackles, a half of a sack, a pick, a couple of forced fumbles, a pair of fumble recoveries and six passes defended.
But as terrific as Greenlaw has been since entering the league, he can’t help but think about that fateful Sunday night three months ago.
“So it’s one of the things that you just kind of think about and you just try not to cry,” Greenlaw said.
As for when he will return to the field? He doesn’t know, but when he does, he will be ready.
“When I feel like I can go out there and I really contribute and bring everything I got, I’m just going to do that every game,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be two, three, five, six, eight or 10 (games). But when I do get the opportunity, I’m just going to play like it’s the Super Bowl every game.”
Hopefully, Dre Greenlaw is back sooner rather than later.
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