The Denver Broncos went out of their way to spend big money at inside linebacker in 2025, and it blew up in their face, handing a 3-year, $31.5 milion to free agent Dre Greenlaw only to see him produce little to nothing.
For the Broncos, it also turned out all the answers they needed at inside linebacker were already on the roster with Justin Strnad and Alex Singleton, both of whom landed new contracts in the last few days, while Greenlaw was given his walking papers on Monday, on the 1st day of NFL free agency.
“The Broncos are releasing Dre Greenlaw, per source,” DNVR’s Zac Stevens wrote on his official X account on Monday. “By releasing Dre Greenlaw, Broncos have $4.33M in dead money, but save $6M in cap space.”
“Source: The Broncos are releasing veteran LB Dre Greenlaw, a big-time physical presence in their defense,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on Monday.
Greenlaw Disappointed Broncos From the Jump
Greenlaw’s health was an issue beginning in the preseason, which he missed almost the entirety of with a mysterious injury issue, and also led to him missing 9 regular-season games.
Even when he was healthy, Greenlaw couldn’t seem to get right, including serving a one-game suspension for a postgame confrontation with a game official.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine put Greenlaw at the top of his list of possible salary cap casualties for the Broncos this offseason on February 1 — just days after a 10-7 home loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
“The Broncos are in a nice spot financially so they don’t have to get too ruthless to clear space.” Ballentine wrote. “However, it’s worth revisiting the Dre Greenlaw signing. The Broncos inked him to a three-year, $31.5 million contract, but they’ve left themselves wiggle room to get out of it. The signing was a bet that Greenlaw could put his injury issues behind him, but that wasn’t the case. The 28-year-old was in and out of the lineup this season with groin, ankle, hamstring and quad injuries. He ultimately wound up only playing 58 percent of the snaps in eight games.”
Greenlaw Never Same Following Super Bowl Injury
The Broncos bet on Greenlaw returning to the form that made him a star for the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 — a year that ended with a freak injury in a Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when he tore his Achilles tendon as he slipped running onto the field.
In the 2 seasons before his injury, Greenlaw had 247 tackles and 8 TFL in 30 games. In the 2 seasons since his injury, he’s played in just 10 games with 52 tackles and 2 TFL.
There is no universe in which the Broncos should be paying Greenlaw the $9 million he’s scheduled to make in 2026, much less the $11 million he would be on the books for in 2027.
The Broncos signed Strnad to a 3-year, $18 million contract on Sunday — a deal that included $10 million in guaranteed money. Denver signed Singleton to a 2-year, $15 million contract on Monday with $11 million in guaranteed money.
Broncos Part Ways With $31 Million Free Agent Bust