San Francisco 49ers’ LB, Dre Greenlaw, suffered a non-contact Achilles injury during the Super Bowl final against the Kansas City Chiefs.
During the last campaign, he played in 15 games and posted 1.5 sacks, 120 total tackles (75 solo tackles), and four passes defensed. He played in three postseason games. The injury required surgery and it is anticipated that the process could delay Greenlaw’s next season.
Later, after sustaining the injury, the linebacker was helped off the field and taken to the locker room. He did not return for the game and recently he shared with NBC Sports Bay Area how he felt regarding the injury, and loss, among other things.
Dre Greenlaw still sheds tears over Achilles injury suffered in 49ers' Super Bowl defeat: "You just try not to cry"https://t.co/Ok7vXPe3M0 pic.twitter.com/uT0qdPU3Qv
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) May 13, 2024
He mentioned, as per NFL Network, “Sometimes you get a little flashback and shed a couple of tears thinking about it.”
He underwent surgery to repair his Achilles tendon four days after the date of the match. His recovery period is stated to be nine months and currently he has covered three months. He further mentions, “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. “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.”
Greenlaw also shed light on the causes of the injury and how he sustained that at a crucial moment of the season. The linebacker expressed, “My right Achilles was already in pain that whole month, so I wouldn’t say necessarily that (the practice field) was the cause of it. It probably didn’t help. (The grass) was pretty soft. For me, I don’t really pay attention to the field, other than if it has holes in it or (if) I’m slipping. If it’s not one of those two, I feel like I can battle any field.”
The general manager of the 49ers, John Lynch, has also reportedly shared that Greenlaw will be on the physically unable to perform list, PUP, and will be absent for initial four games of the next campaign.
Greenlaw’s confidence for the next is impressively profound, as he shares that he will treat every game like it is a championship game, stating that if he gets the chance, he will “play like it’s the Super Bowl every game.“
The linebacker shares that he is not sure about his comeback date but his mind and body and his team physicians will advise him when he can return.
