NFL Makes Decision on Dre Greenlaw’s Suspension Appeal

During the San Francisco 49ers’ big win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, there were a few incidents as emotions boiled over for both teams. Late in the second quarter, 49ers off-ball linebacker Dre Greenlaw head-butted the Seahawks’ Ernest Jones IV, who was on the sideline and not wearing a helmet at the time.

As a result, Greenlaw was promptly ejected from the game. He was later handed a one-game suspension without pay from the NFL.

Greenlaw decided to appeal that suspension, as is his right, and his appeal hearing was held on Tuesday.

The league’s final decision

Per Michael Signora, the league’s senior vice president of football and international communications, the NFL has upheld Greenlaw’s one-game ban.

This is bad news for a Niners team that has already been decimated due to injuries. On defense, Nick Bosa, Sam Okuayinonu, Alfred Collins and CJ West, among others, are out, which has left their defensive line thin. They have also been without wide receivers De’Zhaun Stribling, Ricky Pearsall, Christian Kirk and Demarcus Robinson, fullback Kyle Juszczyk and tight end Jake Tonges.

San Francisco will host the Washington Commanders next Monday, Oct. 19, and it will visit the Atlanta Falcons the following Sunday before getting Week 8 off.

Greenlaw has been having an excellent season so far. Through five games, he has 37 total tackles (18 solo), and he is looking a lot like the player he was before he tore his Achilles during Super Bowl LVIII. He and middle linebacker Fred Warner are once again forming one of football’s best and most fearsome duos on defense.

The Niners may be just starting to become a little healthier. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday that Bosa and Juszczyk could return to game action in Week 6 versus the Commanders. In particular, the return of Bosa, who suffered a strained left calf ahead of Week 3, will give their defense a big boost, as he’s their only truly proven edge rusher.

He is a five-time Pro Bowler and was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. He’s coming off a torn ACL he suffered in Week 3 of last season.