San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

NFL insider: 49ers' Dre Greenlaw deserved to be ejected

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 11/14/22

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport disagrees with San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan regarding the ejection of linebacker Dre Greenlaw on Sunday night.

"I will say this, just personally, not that my opinion matters at all. I thought he should have been ejected," Rapoport said about Greenlaw during a Monday appearance on San Francisco radio station KNBR, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "It was a very clear helmet-to-helmet, head down ... like, he hit him helmet-to-helmet. It's literally what the rule was created for. And I don't know that you can officiate intent. He literally hit him with the crown of his helmet."

Late in the first half of the "Sunday Night Football" game between the 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers, 49ers defensive back Jimmie Ward tackled Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert from behind as Greenlaw prepared to make a play. The result was Greenlaw being disqualified after he hit Herbert high:

#49ers LB Dre Greenlaw got ejected for this hit pic.twitter.com/78aCzM7UPj
— @ (@FTBeard7) November 14, 2022

Shanahan later said the decision to toss Greenlaw "blew my mind," but Rapoport backed the call.

"He hit him in the head," Rapoport continued about Greenlaw. "That's bad. But if he was being pulled down a little, then he would have speared him in the chest, which is also bad. It's all bad. I'm watching, and I'm seeing all the comments, and people like, 'He shouldn't have been ejected.' I'm like, 'This is what the rule was created for.'"

Following Sunday's game that the 49ers won 22-16 to improve to 5-4 on the season, NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson said Greenlaw's hit was "flagrant" and worthy of disqualification. Anderson also noted that Greenlaw could be fined and/or suspended, but Rapoport thinks the 25-year-old won't miss any time due to the incident.

"I don't know if he's going to be suspended further. My guess is not, but we'll probably find out more on that today," Rapoport remarked.

With or without Greenlaw, the 49ers will take on the 4-6 Arizona Cardinals next Monday night.

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