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Future Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw, at 15 years old, sleeping on the way back from a family trip to White Water in Branson, Mo. (Photo provided by Brian Early)<\/p>\nTwo weeks ago, as the hours ticked away on a decision that\u2019d shape his NFL future, Dre Greenlaw\u2019s adopted father, Brian Early, reminded him of the first time he brought him to a water park.<\/p>\n
It was a year or two after the Earlys took in Greenlaw from a foster home in Fayetteville, Ark., and the young man was still getting used to the concept of structure.\u00a0He was wild back then, as old high school coach Daryl Patton recalled. And on that summer day, the boy climbed up to ride the slides at White Water in Branson, Mo., screaming bloody murder as the current rushed him down.<\/p>\n
The screaming wore him out. On the two-hour drive back home, Greenlaw conked out in the backseat. Early\u2019s kids, Avery and Cameron, fell asleep on Greenlaw\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n
And Greenlaw, dozing happily, was wearing a Denver Broncos jersey.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you remember that?\u201d Early asked him about 12 years later.<\/p>\n
\u201cDude,\u201d grown-up Greenlaw responded, \u201cI do\u00a0remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greenlaw had called Early for advice shortly after NFL free agency erupted in March, two situations in front of him. The San Francisco 49ers wanted him to return after a standout six-year run at linebacker. General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan, in fact, had flown to Greenlaw\u2019s home in Texas to check in with him, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told The Denver Post.<\/p>\n
San Francisco, eventually, had outbid the Broncos, who\u2019d honed in on Greenlaw to revamp the heart of their defense. But the 49ers\u2019 brass only flew out \u2014 and their offer only increased \u2014 after the Broncos had already come after Greenlaw, sources said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was, like, a last-ditch effort,\u201d Early told The Post.<\/p>\n
The Earlys adopted a kid, way back when, who was slow to trust, caught in a foster system that left him in a constant state of flux. That never quite changed. Greenlaw, Early said, has always been fiercely loyal to his teammates and those loyal to him, harboring deep bonds with Shanahan and fellow linebacker Fred Warner in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Future Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw, at 15 years old, sleeping on the way back from a family trip to White Water in Branson, Mo. (Photo provided by Brian Early)<\/p>\n
But he was close, too, with 49ers-turned-Broncos Talanoa Hufanga<\/a> and D.J. Jones. And as the 49ers parted ways with a slew of pieces in free agency<\/a>, Greenlaw sensed an opportunity for a \u201cfresh start\u201d with a stacked defense in Denver, agent J.R. Carroll told The Post.<\/p>\n As Early reminded Greenlaw of that serendipitous day at the water park, torn between home in San Francisco and a future in Denver, the linebacker sent his adopted dad a picture of himself at 7 years old. His Little League team was the Broncos. And there Greenlaw was in the photo, even younger, wearing another\u00a0Broncos jersey.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s like, \u2018Man,’\u201d Early recalled, \u201c\u2018I feel like it\u2019s destiny.’\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n Football always brought release. In the days before Greenlaw moved in, Early \u2014 then a defensive coordinator at Fayetteville High \u2014 regularly picked him up from the group home and took him to Sunday church with the family. Often, when they\u2019d return to drop Greenlaw off, police cars surrounded the facility. Someone had stolen something. Everyone was put on lockdown.<\/p>\n He was hyper, high school coach Patton recalled. He buzzed, with no direction. Greenlaw found it, eventually, between the hashes. He was a different cat, as Warner put it, the 27-year-old Greenlaw long maturing but always the one at the heart of the storm in the 49ers\u2019 pregame linebacker huddle. Slapping helmets. Chanting.<\/p>\n Twelve plays into Super Bowl XVII, in February 2024, Greenlaw was buzzing again. He hopped on the sidelines, once, twice, preparing to take the field in the second quarter against Kansas City. He skipped forward onto turf, one step with his right leg, landing awkwardly.<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TDP-Z-Dre-Greenlaw-BNG-04.jpg\")
San Francisco 49ers\u2019 Dre Greenlaw (57) exits the field after suffering a torn tendon on his left leg in the second quarter of the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TDP-Z-Dre-Greenlaw-BNG-03.jpg\")
San Francisco 49ers\u2019 Dre Greenlaw (57), Fred Warner (54) and Nick Bosa (97) tackle Seattle Seahawks\u2019 Kenneth Walker III (9) in the first quarter at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n