It might not be the trade all 49ers fans have talked about this offseason, but it’s feasible the Niners move linebacker Dre Greenlaw somewhere else.
San Francisco 49ers fans, and the rest of the league for that matter, have been queued in on the trade of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, that following in the wake of so many other blockbuster deals leading up to the start of the 2022 NFL new year on March 16.
But the Niners may potentially move other pieces this offseason, too, and general manager John Lynch hasn’t necessarily shied away from trading commodities for other commodities.
One of the names that seems to have risen as possible trade bait this offseason is three-year pro linebacker Dre Greenlaw, the surprising find late in the 2019 NFL Draft who worked his way into the starting lineup and made one of the biggest stops in recent franchise history his rookie season.
Yet Greenlaw, entering the final year of his rookie deal, was notably surpassed in 2021 by fellow linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who admirably filled in for him while Greenlaw was out for all but three regular-season games and finished second in team tackles behind fellow backer Fred Warner with 102.
Al-Shaair might return as a restricted free agent, while Greenlaw is scheduled to earn $2.62 million this year, according to Over the Cap. While Greenlaw is an OK player, he’s not a great one. And it’s feasible San Francisco entertains the idea of moving him while he’s still on a cheap part of his contract while opening up the door for Al-Shaair to take on a more prominent role.
If Lynch and Co. elect to go that route, here are three teams that make sense in a Greenlaw trade.
49ers trade partner No. 3: Las Vegas Raiders
There’s a massive arms race building up in the AFC West in the wake of the Seattle Seahawks trading quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, then the Los Angeles Chargers acquiring star EDGE Khalil Mack from the Chicago Bears in response.
While quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs don’t necessarily need to do much to stay relevant, the Las Vegas Raiders could easily be seen as the fourth-best team now in the division after these recent moves.
The Raiders would be smart to spend top dollar on wide receivers and pass-rushers this offseason, but that might leave little room for supplementary needs. A challenge, considering they have $17.8 million in salary cap space.
Linebacker is certainly one of those needs, as aging veteran K.J. Wright is hitting NFL free agency and may not return.
In the interest of getting younger and cheaper, the 49ers sending Greenlaw for a day-three pick certainly wouldn’t seem out of sorts. Las Vegas would get a cheap starter to help keep the defense intact, while the Niners would offload his salary and open up the door for Azeez Al-Shaair.
49ers trade partner No. 2: Detroit Lions
It might seem like a cruel trick by San Francisco to trade Dre Greenlaw away from a Super Bowl contender and to a purely rebuilding team, the Detroit Lions, that was on the cusp of securing the No. 1 overall pick last season.
Yet Lions head coach Dan Campbell turned plenty of heads for the right reasons last year, has a smart staff surrounding him and got his players to buy into the rebuild, playing exceptionally hard for him the entire way.
What Detroit needs is some youthful experience, particularly from someone who has been in the postseason twice now. And it wouldn’t hurt to merely upgrade positions of need.
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The Lions have a lot of those, too.
Detroit isn’t hurting for cap space, of course, and it could spend a good chunk of that money on pass-rushers. It needs them, particularly after the release of veteran EDGE Trey Flowers.
If the Lions splurge there, they can still offer up modest draft capital in exchange to the 49ers for Greenlaw, who’d be a quality addition to a second level of defense that’ll hopefully be on the upswing over the next couple of years.
49ers trade partner No. 1: New York Jets
If trading Dre Greenlaw to the Lions seems like a cruel joke, at least to him, then the Niners sending Greenlaw off to the scuffling New York Jets would appear to be a nightmare.
Except it wouldn’t necessarily be.
For starters, Greenlaw would get to reunite with his former defensive coordinator in San Francisco, Jets head coach Robert Saleh, who adored Greenlaw during the two seasons they spent together before 2021. Saleh frequently praised Greenlaw over that time, and one can’t rule out the thought Gang Green’s head coach would relish the opportunity to have Greenlaw back in the fold.
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No defense finished worse in the NFL last season than the Jets, both in terms of points allowed and yards surrendered. Simply put, they could use help wherever they can find it. And while $48.5 million in cap space suggests they’ll have no trouble overspending on free-agent defensive talent this offseason, Saleh and Co. will also be looking for bargains, too.
Greenlaw for an early day-three pick would be a bargain. And he’d likely assume a much bigger role on New York’s defense than he ever would with the 49ers.