The Denver Broncos are in the mix for Dre Greenlaw.
That, per Mike Silver this morning on Bluesky.
The San Francisco 49ers linebacker is currently a free agent, and while the Niners want him back, multiple teams are going after him.
Denver Broncos are in the mix for Dre Greenlaw in the middle
The week of Super Bowl LIX, Sean Payton told Kay Adams he’s looking for a playmaker on offense, and that Denver needs to rebuild the middle of their defense.
That includes middle linebacker and safety. It should also be noted the Broncos re-signed inside lineman D.J. Jones yesterday, an important piece in the middle.
And while many hoped the Broncos would go after Zack Baun, the Eagles re-signed him already.
However, Pro Football Focus ranked Greenlaw as the 21st-best free agent available–higher than Baun–and the best free agent linebacker. The wrote:
Greenlaw worked his way back from an Achilles injury he suffered in the Super Bowl last February but was shut down after only 34 snaps in 2024. He will still likely see a lot of interest in free agency. He excels in coverage, having earned PFF coverage grades of 82.6 and 79.5 over the past two seasons.
He went though a fluke achilles injury in Super Bowl LVIII, tearing the tendon as he ran onto the field. After working his way back into playing shape, Greenlaw played in only two games last year before he was shut down.
But, the Niners think he still has the magic that made him the second-leading tackler to Fred Warner in 2023 when Greenlaw had 120 combined tackles. Rewind back to 2022 and it was his best year according to PFF, with an 81.2 overall and coverage grades.
Last year with San Francisco he made $8.2 million, which would be a great number if the Broncos could sign him for that as an average annual value.
With Jones’ deal coming in at $26M guaranteed over three years, that’s nearly $9M per year. The details aren’t public yet, but that would leave the Broncos with $31M in salary cap space for this year.
Signing Greenlaw would mean Denver would have around $23M left over; still plenty to get a few more guys at safety, tight end, receiver, etc.
Plus, if they cut Alex Singleton, they’d save $5.6M toward the cap, meaning they’d likely upgrade for little money.
Broncos linebacker position still a work in progress
Speaking of Singleton, with the Denver Broncos in the mix for Dre Greenlaw, it could spell the end for him.
Or, Denver could run Singleton and Greenlaw alongside one another in the middle. Singleton had been a tackling machine in 2022-2023 before injuring his ACL and missing most of 2024.
Cody Barton, who played well for the unit against the run last year, is currently a free agent. And Drew Sanders–who played sparingly in 2023 and very little last year–has been moved from EDGE back to ILB.
But it seems unlikely the Broncos can rely on Sanders as a starter in the middle. He’ll likely be a backup and special teams guy in 2025.
Greenlaw would be a great get for Denver in the middle. Not only is he one of the best tacklers around, he also has the skills to cover tight ends and running backs out of the backfield. That’s something the Broncos have been missing in recent years.
According to Mike Silver, not only are the Niners trying to re-sign Greenlaw, but the Broncos, Texans, and Falcons are also in the mix. That means it could push his pay up due to the competition.
If Denver misses out on Greenlaw, Nick Bolton would be another great fit at ILB.
While free agency technically starts on Wednesday at 2 p.m. MT, there’s already been a flurry of deals this morning. Stay tuned to Mile High Sports for updates as they happen.