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After turning in three strong seasons to start out his professional career, Dre Greenlaw won’t have to worry about testing the free agent market in March of 2023, as the fourth-year San Francisco 49ers linebacker has agreed to a new two-year extension that runs through the 2024 NFL season.
Though the Niners haven’t acknowledged the deal publicly, presumably due to the season-altering ankle injury to Trey Lance, Ian Rapoport reported on an extension shortly after the game came to an end and has since reported that the deal is worth up to $19 million over two years with $10 million guaranteed. Greenlaw spoke about what the new contract means to him in the locker room after the game.
“Man, just to not have to worry about anything financial,” Greenlaw told the assembled media. “To just be able to just lock in and just focus on playing, really. That’s really the big stress relief, so now I can just focus on playing ball. I don’t have to worry about getting injured, you know what I mean? Whatever I do, I just go and do it hard. I’m happy to be a part of this organization for two more years, and we’ve got a great group of people, so I’m excited to see how far we can get and try to get a few championships in those years too.”
Greenlaw Has High Hopes for His Future in San Francisco
Speaking with ESPN after the 49ers’ Week 2, Greenlaw celebrated that the two sides were able to come to a contractual agreement and that he can now focus on his on-field work without having his future weighing him down.
“It’s a blessing,” Greenlaw told ESPN. “I’m just thankful for this organization, thankful for everything. Just kind of just let some stress off you knowing that if you get hurt, you don’t have to worry about much. You just play until you can’t play no more. So, that’s really the relief that I got.”
While Greenlaw certainly would have received significant interest on the free agent market, as he’s amassed a very impressive career stat line since being drafted in the fifth round back in 2019, the familiarity and security of two more years in San Francisco allowed an extension to get done quickly.
“You want to get as much money as possible, but at the end of the day, you want to be happy where you’re at,” Greenlaw said. “You want to be with a good organization, you want the security, you want to be wanted, all that good stuff. So, I was just in the best position of just being here with the organization, and there’s really not anywhere else I’d rather be.”
The San Francisco 49ers Continue to Prioritize Their Own Players
Greenlaw’s new deal marks the third 49ers player to agree to a long-term contract extension since August 1st, following in the footsteps of wide receiver Deebo Samuel on August 1 and punter Mitch Wishnowsky on September 17.
With Mike McGlinchey, Jimmie Ward, and Nick Bosa, among others, eligible for new extensions too and roundly $24 million in available cap space pre-Greenlaw’s extension according to Spotrac, John Lynch has some decisions to make from a team-building standpoint. Fortunately, with so many talented players on the roster, that’d be a good problem to have.
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