There wasn’t a football fan on the planet who will likely forget the injury San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw suffered in Super Bowl LVIII.
That’s not for how gruesome the injury was, but for how simple it was. Greenlaw, running onto the field to join the defense against the Kansas City Chiefs, appeared to lose his footing and slip a little bit … then crumpled to the ground with a torn Achilles tendon.
It was an unworthy end to the season for a player who had meant so much to his team to that point and if Greenlaw isn’t able to return in 2024, it could mean the end of his time in San Francisco — something Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks could lead to Greenlaw landing on the Philadelphia Eagles via free agency in 2025.
Greenlaw has been on the PUP (physically unable to perform list) after undergoing surgery not long after the 25-22 overtime loss to the Chiefs. Knox had Greenlaw as the No. 11 free agent prospect in 2025 following the NFL trade deadline on November 5.
“The Eagles will probably also be in on Greenlaw if he becomes available,” Knox wrote. “Philadelphia put a lot of effort into rebuilding its defense this offseason but could still use a linebacker of Greenlaw’s caliber.”
Greenlaw Has Been Tackling Machine for 49ers
Greenlaw has been a full-time starter for the 49ers since they drafted him in the fifth round (No. 148 overall) out of Arkansas in the 2019 NFL draft, helping lead his team to a Super Bowl appearance as a rookie and earning PFWAA All-Rookie honors.
Unfortunately for Greenlaw, the 2 major injuries in his career have come at the most inopportune times for his bank account.
In 2021, Greenlaw underwent groin surgery and only played in 3 regular-season games. Despite returning for all 3 playoff games he was only able to parlay that into a 2-year, $16.4 million contract extension in September 2022.
Greenlaw returned from that injury to play the best football of his career over the next 2 seasons. In 2022, Greenlaw had a career-high 127 tackles, 6 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 interception returned for a touchdown. In 2023, he doubled down with 120 tackles and 4 pass deflections.
Greenlaw also has something NFL teams covet — playoff experience. In 11 career postseason games he has 69 tackles, 3 pass deflections, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.
Eagles Took Big Swing at LB in 2024 Free Agency
One thing to consider is the Eagles might be reticent to sign another linebacker in free agency after taking big swings in 2024 by signing Bryce Huff to a 3-year, $51.1 million contract with $34 million in guaranteed money and signing former NFL All-Pro Devin White to a 1-year, $4 million contract.
White never even saw the field for the Eagles, where he was a healthy scratch for the first month before being released and landing with the Houston Texans.
To say Huff has been underwhelming would be an understatement. Through 8 games, he has just 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks and just 3 QB hits. That’s a pretty drastic dropoff for a player who had 10.0 sacks and 21 QB hits for the New York Jets in 2023 despite not starting a single game.