It almost is time.
On Wednesday, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters the team is targeting Week 15’s "Thursday Night Football" game against the Los Angeles Rams for star inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw’s return.
San Francisco general manager and president of football operations John Lynch said similar Friday.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"Hopefully, he just keeps getting better,” Lynch told KNBR’s Brian Murhpy and Markus Boucher about Greenlaw on Friday. “We've had that Thursday night game against the Rams as that target date. Hopefully, we can stay on that.
"It's kind of a day-by-day thing. We're going to make sure he's right. But it's even more important to win a game like this [vs. Chicago Bears] because you get a guy like that [returning], who we all know what he does for our football team when he's out there."
Greenlaw, of course, hasn’t played during the 2024 NFL season because of the Achilles rupture he suffered when running onto the field in Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The 49ers reacting to Dre Greenlaw’s Achilles injury in the Super Bowl is devastating 😢 pic.twitter.com/CHxwD0k9xk
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) February 14, 2024
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
The 49ers sorely miss Greenlaw and the 120 tackles he made last campaign. Without him thus far, San Francisco is 5-7 and bears one of the league’s more mediocre defenses, allowing a seventh-worst 24.6 points per game.
Greenlaw has impressed his coaches and teammates while rehabbing and participating in “mock games,” but the 49ers want to be cautious with him and, as Lynch said, currently are focused on the Bears. Nevertheless, signs are pointing toward Greenlaw returning just in time for potentially a last-second San Francisco playoff push.
"I’m really proud of Dre with the way he’s attacked this,” Lynch told KNBR’s “Murph & Markus” last week. “He’s a difference-maker for us on the field, but we’re inspired just by watching him out here. Hats off to the kid for working his tail off.”
The Faithful should watch for No. 57 next week.
Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast
