A little over a year ago, Dre Greenlaw signed with the Denver Broncos despite 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan flying to Texas and trying to convince him to stay. However, Greenlaw took note of head coach Sean Payton’s elite defense at Denver and wanted to “be a part of that.” He thought it was the “right place” for him, and it was a team that “needed him.”

Fast forward to 2026, Greenlaw is back in San Francisco and helped defeat the Denver Broncos 24-14 in Week 4. He made sure to point out during the game that the team he once considered the correct choice was far from what he thought of them.

Greenlaw recorded 12 tackles and one forced fumble on Sunday, playing an important role in establishing the 10-point difference between the Niners and the Broncos. During the game, he was seen pointing at Payton. After the game ended, he approached Payton animatedly after the game, but was held back by Fred Warner.

The league took note and fined Greenlaw $11,941 for taunting. In the comments of the OurSF49ers post that also shared the news, he wrote, “Damn fr? Lmao.”

Greenlaw, in his postgame presser, did not shy away from revealing what he said.

“I told him to get the (expletive) off the field,” he said. “That’s it. Get the (expletive) off the field.”

Greenlaw later explained how he felt about his time in Denver, admitting that he was frustrated that they had judged him based on an injury-riddled year, which prevented him from showing off his full potential.

“There were some dark moments,” Greenlaw said, regarding his stint with the Broncos. “It’s tough, because I never got a chance to give them all I had. There’s so much anger, frustration, and you just want to go out there and prove (your worth) to everybody, but you can’t. There were times when it was like, ‘Man, I don’t want to show my face in this building.’ Tough year.” 

After hitting free agency in 2025, Greenlaw signed a three-year, $31.5 million contract with the Denver Broncos, including $11.5 million guaranteed. That year, he was already coming back up after an injury-marred 2024 at San Francisco. But things started on a rough note for Greenlaw, who was injured in the offseason. He was only able to play his first game for Denver in October 2025, and missed the last two games of the regular season with a hamstring injury.

In the eight regular-season and two postseason games that Greenlaw played, he still showed enough to be worthy of retaining his position on the team. His total tally at Denver stands at 53 tackles, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble, and four stuffs.

Yet, the Broncos released him. That’s what instilled hate in Greenlaw for the Broncos and Payton.

What Is Dre Greenlaw’s Beef With Sean Payton?

The Broncos preferred to move on from a player who spent most of his first season with the team on the bench. But Greenlaw’s issue was the lack of courtesy with which he was released. 

“He [Payton] would walk by – I would walk by – and he wouldn’t even look at me because of my injury. So I just knew what it was (with him) there,” the linebacker admitted.

However, what angered Greenlaw the most was that he found out about Denver’s decision to let him go through his agent instead of Payton.

“The disrespect,” Greenlaw told the San Francisco Chronicle. “He couldn’t be man to man and call my phone and say, ‘We’re going to cut you.’” 

Now back home with the San Francisco 49ers, he’s playing at a pretty high clip. Even though he made sure to leave a mark with his numbers on the field, he couldn’t help but drive home his dislike of the Broncos and Payton by jeering at the head coach.