The Denver Broncos parted with linebacker Dre Greenlaw during NFL free agency after he struggled to stay in the field during the 2025 season.

Last year, injuries and a one-game suspension limited Greenlaw to playing in eight games (seven starts) with the Broncos, snagging one interception, forcing one fumble, one sack, two pass deflections and 43 total tackles (15 solo, 28 assisted).

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After being cut by Denver, Greenlaw returned to the San Francisco 49ers after just one year in Mile High. Greenlaw recently spoke out about his time in Denver during an interview on Terron Armstead’s The Set podcast, and his review was honest.

“For me, it was like, the fact that I’m not healthy, I don’t feel that twitch or that gear that I felt like I need to have, but obviously I’m out here trying to do everything I can to be on the field,” Greenlaw said, via NFL.com. “It makes it tough when you pay a guy $11 million and he’s only on the field 50 percent of the time. It made it tough for me. It made it to the point where it kind of makes you not happy.

“Now, I’ve got to slowly come in and take reps from somebody else, which the linebackers were playing really, really good at the time, so now I’m just taking reps from this guy. And now it’s like, OK, we’re splitting reps, how are we going to do it? One week it’s this, one week it’s that, and it’s like, I’ve never been in that position before. Yeah, I just wasn’t happy. That’s really what it boiled down to at the end of the day.”

Although the 2025 season may have been tough for Greenlaw on the field, he was grateful for the Broncos for giving him a chance. “Everything works out for a reason,” Greenlaw said. “I don’t regret none of it. I’m thankful for it all, for Sean (Payton) and everybody that accepted me into that organization, teammates and all.”

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It sounds like the break between Greenlaw and Denver was a mutual one, something that is rare in the NFL today. Broncos head coach Sean Payton called parting with Greenlaw a “tough” decision. “That was a tough one,” Payton said at the NFL’s annual meeting in Arizona. “Here’s why: He’s so passionate. I would say, in my career as a coach, I’ve been lucky enough to coach a lot of passionate players that love the game, and I think that I’m always disappointed, internally, that it didn’t work out because I love that player. I love how he competes. I love all the things he brings.”

Greenlaw was happy to return to the 49ers, the team that gave him his name in football, and Denver was happy to be able to re-sign Justin Strnad and Alex Singleton this offseason. The situation seems to have worked out for everyone.

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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: NFL: Dre Greenlaw ‘just wasn’t happy’ with Broncos in 2025