Dre Greenlaw opens up on 49ers return and reunion with Fred Warner

Dre Greenlaw is back with the San Francisco 49ers this offseason after spending the 2025 campaign with the Denver Broncos, and the veteran linebacker says the return has felt like coming home.

Perhaps most importantly, Greenlaw is reunited with All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, a pairing the 49ers hope can once again form one of the NFL's top defensive duos.

"It just feels like normal," Greenlaw said. "I mean, just to be beside a guy like Fred, just always locked in, just his love for the game, it just radiates throughout the whole team.

"His leadership and his voice, that's the main thing. He's the voice on the defense, and you got somebody like that, just confident right next to you, it just kind of settles you down. So, it just feels like normal."

Greenlaw said returning to the 49ers organization has brought back a strong sense of familiarity and comfort.

"Just an unbelievable feeling, just missing the guys, missing the organization, missing just everybody, all the workers in the organization, the coaches. It's just a sense of feeling like home," he said.

When asked whether he explored other opportunities after his stint with Denver, Greenlaw made it clear where his focus was.

"I didn't think about nowhere else, honestly," he said. "It could have been [an option], if [returning] wasn't a possibility, but I was coming back here."

Greenlaw also expressed no regrets about his brief time with the Broncos, noting that the experience gave him a new perspective on what the 49ers organization means to him. San Francisco made a late push to retain him originally, but he had already verbally committed to Denver and chose to honor that decision.

Leaving the team that drafted him in the fifth round in 2019 was difficult, but Greenlaw said the experience ultimately reinforced his appreciation for the 49ers' culture and environment.

"It gives you a different perspective on how much the building really means, how much the people inside the building mean to you, how much that passion you play for isn't just for the love of the game, but it's for the love of the building, as well," Greenlaw said. "So, it just gives you a little bit of reality and just, okay, why do you play the game of football?"

Now back in San Francisco, Greenlaw emphasized that the standard within the organization differs from that elsewhere, which drew him back to the team.

"Even when I was gone, I knew that San Fran was still going to have the capability of getting to the playoffs, getting to the Super Bowl, whatever is in store for them," Greenlaw said. "And that's just because of the guys that's on the team. You've got the best leadership, just a great quality of guys here. You don't get that too many places."