\u201cYou\u2019re not going to be able to come in there and [be] how you were with the Niners and they take care of your body, this and that. Broncos, they gonna want you to go every day. They\u2019re six days on. Their rehab is tough, all of this and this.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019m just like, \u2018OK, let\u2019s get it going.’\u201d<\/p>\n
But after dealing with injuries in the previous 13 months, he pushed too far.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd, yeah, man, once I just got there, man, it just, it was tough because it was like I pulled my quad second day I got there,\u201d Greenlaw said.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 [I] should have been just smarter about where I was going in and training with them at.<\/p>\n
\u201c.You\u2019re going into a new spot, you want to get going, this and that and that, basically just had some hiccups that I really just \u2014 I felt like I had no control over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, when Greenlaw returned for Broncos training camp, he didn\u2019t even make it a week into full-scale practice before he was sidelined again. He returned later in the preseason, but by Week 1, he was back on the sideline, and then landed on injured reserve three weeks into the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never got to be in a training camp for a week or two. It was never OTAs for a week. It was just like, always trying to come back and come back from this quad,\u201d Greenlaw said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd, yeah, so I really didn\u2019t even get on the field until, like, Week 8 to where I was actually on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the issues continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad a hiccup along the way with the hamstring, and the ref,\u201d he said, referring to the confrontation with referee Brad Allen in the celebration after beating the New York Giants that led to a one-game suspension.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad a hiccup with the hamstring to cost me a game or two,\u201d he continued, referring to the injury he suffered in Week 16 against Jacksonville. \u201cSo it was just a roller coaster of a ride kind of that I could never really get the ball rolling, man.\u201d<\/p>\n
NO HARD FEELINGS FOR GREENLAW TOWARD THE BRONCOS<\/p>\n
The change to the Broncos\u2019 3-4 defense from the 49ers\u2019 4-3 scheme didn\u2019t help, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing from 4-3 to a 3-4, man, it was a huge different world, especially not being able to practice in the defense,\u201d Greenlaw said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the fact that I\u2019m not healthy, I don\u2019t feel that twitch or that, that gear that I feel like I need to have, but, obviously, I\u2019m out here trying to do everything I can to be on the field, but it makes it tough when, you pay a guy 11 [million] and he\u2019s only on the field 50% of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the emergence of Justin Strnad complicated matters. By the time Greenlaw was ready to play in Week 7, the then-six-year veteran had proved his worth. In Greenlaw\u2019s debut, he intercepted a Jaxson Dart pass during the Broncos\u2019 rally from a 19-point deficit, a takeaway that proved to be one of the most impactful plays of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe linebackers were playing really, really good at the time, so it\u2019s like, like, now I gotta come in, I\u2019m just taking reps from this guy,\u201d Greenlaw said. \u201cAnd now it\u2019s like, okay, we\u2019re splitting the reps. How we\u2019re gonna do it? One week it\u2019s this; one week it\u2019s that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bottom line?<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, I\u2019ve never been in that position before for one, and then for two, it just felt like, yeah, I just \u2014 I wasn\u2019t happy,\u201d Greenlaw said. \u201cThat\u2019s really what it boils down to at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t regret none of it,\u201d he told Armstead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation that happened, I\u2019m thankful for it all, for Sean and for the Penners, everybody that accepted me into that organization, teammates and all.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Payton was magnanimous toward Greenlaw when discussing him and the decision to release him at the NFL Annual Meeting<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a tough one. Here is why: he is so passionate,\u201d Payton said. \u201cIn my career as a coach, I\u2019ve been lucky enough to coach a lot of passionate players that love the game. I\u2019m always disappointed internally that that didn\u2019t work out because I love that player. I love how he competes. I love all the things he brings. You feel somewhat responsible when it doesn\u2019t work out.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, once the Broncos re-signed both Strnad and Alex Singleton, there was no other option. Those two contracts only happen if each player is projected to start. Each would have walked without an assurance of heading into the offseason as a starter, because they would have had first-team options on the open market.<\/p>\n So now, Greenlaw is right back where he started with the 49ers, with no ill will \u2026 just a looming reunion in a duel with the Broncos at a date to be determined this season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Subscribe-Banner.jpg\")
\t
![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Subscribe-Banner_DS.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DenverSportsEmail-300x250-1.jpg\")
\t
![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DenverSportsEmail-830x100-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n