Dre Greenlaw has built his reputation as an intense linebacker, but there is a difference between playing with an edge and letting emotions take over. The San Francisco 49ers linebacker found himself in trouble again during a heated divisional matchup, leaving head coach Kyle Shanahan with another reason to question his judgment.
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Greenlaw was ejected during the second quarter of San Francisco’s 32-29 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, October 11, after headbutting Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV on the sideline. The confrontation began when Greenlaw hit Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold after Darnold had stepped out of bounds on a scramble. Shanahan later made it clear that Greenlaw needed to show better control.
“But that’s how it is. You’re gonna get baited big time, especially when you’re on their bench. They’re gonna get close, and they told me that he head-butted a guy without a helmet. So if that’s exactly what happened, then yeah, we gotta be a lot smarter than that. Can’t do that,” Shanahan said, as reported by Bay Area sports station 95.7 The Game. “No, we just celebrated there; we’ll clean that stuff up tomorrow. No, but he knows he’s gotta be smarter.”
With 6:04 left in the first half, Darnold ran for five yards before reaching the sideline near the San Francisco 47-yard line. Greenlaw made further contact with him, drawing a late-hit penalty that moved Seattle forward 15 yards. The flag quickly sparked a confrontation, with Jones stepping in as Seahawks players gathered around Greenlaw and Jones. The two exchanged words before Greenlaw, still wearing his helmet, struck the helmetless Jones with his head. Jones was left bleeding, and Greenlaw was disqualified.
The ejection also came with the 49ers leading 14-10, forcing San Francisco to continue without one of its starting linebackers. The NFL’s replay office in New York directed the disqualification. In a pool report, NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth explained that the league office had informed officials that Greenlaw was ejected for a “non-football act.”
The timing made the incident more concerning for Greenlaw. On October 10, the NFL fined him $11,941 for taunting the Denver Broncos’ sideline during San Francisco’s Week 4 win. The incident occurred after Greenlaw finished a tackle of Broncos running back RJ Harvey late in the first quarter. He also exchanged words with Denver head coach Sean Payton, although the league’s fine was for the taunting incident, not the separate exchange with Payton.
This is not the first time Greenlaw’s aggression has led to an ejection. In December 2023, he was thrown out of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles after an unnecessary roughness penalty for taking wide receiver DeVonta Smith to the ground was followed by a confrontation with Philadelphia’s head of security, Dom DiSandro. Greenlaw reached toward DiSandro’s face during the altercation and was later fined $10,927 for the hit on Smith. Greenlaw was also ejected in 2022 after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Greenlaw stood by the way he plays and rejected the suggestion that his physical approach crossed the line into dirty play.
“I ain’t no dirty player. I play by the rules. I mean, just because you tackle a little physical doesn’t make you a dirty player,” Greenlaw said.
For Shanahan, Greenlaw’s challenge is to avoid letting moments of frustration overshadow his work on the field. His recent fine and the ejection against Seattle have put that issue back in focus, making it important for Greenlaw to handle these confrontations differently without losing the physical edge that has long been part of his game.