The San Francisco 49ers brought back two linebackers recently. They re-signed special teams ace Luke Gifford and then brought back fan-favorite Dre Greenlaw after a one season sojourn with the Denver Broncos.
The only problem is that both guys wear the jersey No. 57.
Thankfully, Gifford cleared up any potential controversy recently.
Gifford took to social media and lets fans know that he was going to be giving the No. 57 back to Greenlaw, who wore it from 2019 to 2024 with San Francisco.
He wrote the following, "Guys don't worry... 5-7 is all Dre," and added a salute emoji. Greenlaw replied with, "respect my guy I got you for Christmas."
#49ers Luke Gifford is a real one as he is making sure Dre Greenlaw gets to wear the #57 🔥😈 pic.twitter.com/eYy2msYV2X
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) March 15, 2026
It is a nice gesture from Gifford who clearly respects the fact Greenlaw did a lot of great things wearing No. 57 for the Niners for all of those years. Both guys figure to play an important role on next season's team, though.
Greenlaw will likely compete for playing time with Dee Winters who showed some promise in his first year as a starter last season. Winters drew comparisons to Greenlaw when he was at his best, so now he gets to go up against the real thing.
Fans will remember Greenlaw from some truly iconic moments during his previous tenure with San Francisco. Back during the 2019 season, he made a huge tackle at the goal line in Seattle to prevent the Seahawks from earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Then in the playoffs back in 2024, he made a game-sealing interception against the Green Bay Packers to send the Niners back to the NFC Championship game.
Reuniting him with Fred Warner is awesome, so hopefully both guys can stay healthy and they can make a dynamic duo once again.
As for Gifford, he was an important part of the special teams unit last season. He is a big reason why San Francisco improved in kick coverage, so having him back should help ensure the Niners do not completely revert on special teams next season.
With all of the injuries the team sustained at linebacker, he was forced to play on defense and struggled in pass coverage. One hopes the linebacker depth chart does not get completely decimated again so he can focus on special teams coverage going forward.
Nonetheless, it is cool Gifford let Greenlaw have his old number back, so it will be like last season never happened when Greenlaw gets back on the field.
Maybe he will get Gifford a nice watch or something for Christmas.