The San Francisco 49ers gave fans a nice dose of nostalgia by bringing back Dre Greenlaw after he was let go by the Denver Broncos. The move is exciting and it may have also given Niners general manager John Lynch a shiny new trade chip.
Greenlaw was away for just one season, and while he was gone, Dee Winters stepped into his role and did a fairly decent job. When he looked good, he drew comparisons to Greenlaw, but the former was not consistent enough for San Francisco to stand pat at the position in the offseason.
In 17 starts, Winters had 101 tackles and had a memorable pick-six against the Indianapolis Colts. It was a solid campaign, but the 49ers couldn't resist the chance to reunite Fred Warner with Greenlaw.
The two made an absolutely diabolical pairing when they were on the field together for all those years. Warner is coming back from his major ankle injury suffered last season, so if he needed any added incentive or motivation to get back on the field, the 49ers just gave him one.
Greenlaw struggled with the Broncos last season. He played in just eight games and recorded 43 tackles. Denver gave him a three-year, $31.5 million contract so it was certainly hoping for more production.
The Niners did all they could to try and keep Greenlaw last offseason, but maybe losing him for just one year is the best thing that could have happened. Now, they have him at a much cheaper price, and if he can get back to being the player he was back in 2022 and 2023, then San Francisco will have gotten a great deal.
Now that Greenlaw is back in the fold, would Lynch be bold enough to trade Winters?
It would be a definite risk because Greenlaw is almost certainly bound to get hurt at some point, and Nick Martin, who only played last season as a rookie because of how beat up the roster was at linebacker, doesn't seem close to ready to take on a starting role.
If the 49ers get a decent draft pick in return for Winters, it may be tough to say no, though. San Francisco is light on late-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, so maybe Winters could command a Day 3 selection.
The Greenlaw signing is exciting, but it also means the Niners can try to deal Winters if they are feeling a bit risky.