Broncos make major splash, sign standout linebacker

The Denver Broncos made a major move on Monday, signing linebacker Dre Greenlaw to a three-year $34 million deal, according to multiple reports.

The former San Francisco 49ers star is the second big-name player from that team to join the Broncos on Monday, with safety Talanoa Hufanga also coming to Colorado.

Greenlaw, 27, is a 2019 fifth-round pick who blossomed into one of the better players on the 49ers. He only played into two games last season after tearing his Achilles during Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVIII win.

Greenlaw has recorded 455 tackles, 18 of which were for a loss and 3.5 sacks with three interceptions and 14 passes defended across 64 career games, all in the Bay. Greenlaw’s run-stopping ability might be his best trait.

Greenlaw had some really memorable moments for a good 49ers group, including during one during his rookie season when he made a game-saving tackle on the goal line in Week 17, that secured his group the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

This acquisition is huge for a Broncos team that struggled to find a stable solution at inside linebacker in 2024 after Alex Singleton tore his ACL early in the season. Cody Barton was the leader of the defense last year, stepping up in place of Singleton, but he had only signed a one-year deal with the team, making him a free agent and he already inked with the Titans. Singleton only has one year left on his deal with the Broncos, and only time will tell if he will come back as the same playmaker he was before the injury.

The Broncos only had two other inside linebackers who contributed to the team last year, Drew Sanders and Levelle Bailey. While the Broncos have been experimenting with Sanders’ role on the defense, both head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton mentioned the possibility of moving him inside and him being a starter in the NFL.

This might be the biggest move for the Broncos, who came into free agency with over $41 million in cap space.