SANTA CLARA — While Dre Greenlaw is recovering from successful Achilles surgery, Fred Warner has been making sure his 49ers teammate feels supported.
On Wednesday, the All-Pro linebacker shared why making an effort to be present for Greenlaw has been important.
“Just being there for him, really,” Warner said. “Kind of checking in with him every day. He’s around, he’s rehabbing hard, he’s in the meetings with us still. Just checking in with him seeing how he’s doing and making sure he’s still involved, because I know it gets lonely.”
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While Greenlaw has not been able to join his teammates on the field during OTAs or mandatory minicamp, he has tried his best to stay as involved as possible, at the least, watching from the sidelines.
The Arkansas product was presented with the Dwight Clark Award for exemplifying the 49ers legend’s spirit of teamwork and camaraderie at the fourth annual Dwight Clark Legacy Series event last month. Warner presented Greenlaw with the award on stage.
Maybe the best example of Greenlaw’s awareness of the goings on with the team occurred Tuesday, when he shot out of the weight room adjacent to the practice field in what looked like a sprint. The team was going through red zone drills, and Brandon’s Allen’s errant pass was snagged by fellow linebacker Dee Winters.
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“That’s just him,” Warner said. “We get excited for whenever an LB makes a play, and to have him out there yesterday, that was fun.”
Before his injury that occurred at the beginning of Super Bowl LVIII, Greenlaw was having an impressive season. The six-year veteran had racked up 120 tackles -- 75 solo and five for a loss -- along with four pass breakups and 1.5 quarterback sacks.
Because Greenlaw’s injury occurred at the end of the 2023 NFL season, it is likely that he will start out the 2024 campaign on the physically unable to perform list (PUP). While there is no doubt that the linebacker's road back to the field will be a challenging one, Warner will be there every step of the way to make sure his teammate does not feel left out or isolated.
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