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The Cleveland Browns‘ defense has been one of the better units in the NFL over the past few years. With their offense struggling during that span, the Browns’ defense has stepped up and helped the team make the postseason in 2025.
As they look to continue building their defensive unit moving forward, there will be options for them on the free agency market in 2025. Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department recently linked them to one. BR suggested the Browns to sign San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw in free agency in 2025.
“The Browns haven’t prioritized off-ball linebackers, but they have become increasingly important since Jim Schwartz took over the defense,” Bleacher Report wrote on September 16. “They actually paid good money to extend Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah before the season started, but they would be wise to put another athletic linebacker beside him. Dre Greenlaw’s speed and athleticism are an underrated element to what the 49ers are able to do up front.
“Bringing him to Cleveland would help ensure they have a dominant unit in 2025.”
Greenlaw has started in 54 of the 62 games he’s appeared in throughout his career.
Greenlaw Tore His Achilles During the Super Bowl Last Season
While Greenlaw would be an excellent addition to the Cleveland Browns’ defense, they’ll have to see how he plays in 2025.
The Browns don’t have an opportunity to see that right now, as he was placed on the PUP list. Greenlaw tore his Achilles during Super Bowl LVIII, which was a tough blow to the San Francisco 49ers during the contest.
Greenlaw said that the Achilles tear made him emotional, highlighting that he felt bad for his teammates.
“It’s definitely an emotional thing because you know how hard you worked for that moment, how hard your team worked to get in that moment,” Greenlaw said in May, according to Eric Edholm of NFL.com. “You’re that close to it and you can’t go out there and compete. So it just kind of feels like you left everybody hanging.
“So it’s one of the things that you just kind of think about and you just try not to cry.”
That attitude would fit in well with the Browns, as having a guy as passionate about winning as Greenlaw always helps.
It’s uncertain when he’ll return in the 2024-25 season, but he’s expected to play this year. He didn’t have a timeline on his return in May.
“When I feel like I can go out there and I really contribute and bring everything I got, I’m just going to do that every game,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be two, three, five, six, eight or 10 (games). But when I do get the opportunity, I’m just going to play like it’s the Super Bowl every game.”
Greenlaw Would’ve Been the Top LB Available
Greenlaw would’ve been looking at a massive contract if it weren’t for his injury. There’s a chance he’ll return to the same level he was before the injury, which would help him get paid.
However, the Achilles tear didn’t help his case, and Dallas Robinson of Pro Football Network named him the No. 3 linebacker on the market in 2025 because of that.
“Dre Greenlaw is still only 27 years old and would be the No. 1 free agent LB available in 2025 had he not torn his Achilles during the Super Bowl,” Robinson wrote on September 10. “He’s offered near All-Pro-level production during his stint in San Francisco but has now suffered two significant injuries — including a groin issue that cost him all but three regular-season games in 2021 — in five years.”
The injury brings questions, but it could ultimately allow the Cleveland Browns to land him on a cheaper deal.
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