On Sunday night, it was reported that Denver Broncos free agent signing Dre Greenlaw had torn his quad working out, a report that would have been disastrous to an already shaky position group for the team. Thankfully, the report was debunked and Greenlaw did not tear his quad working out. He did, however, strain it.
The shock factor of the report and the terror it sent through Broncos Country for one of the team's prized free agent pickups is reason enough for the team to go ahed and sign the ideal free agent who is still available after the 2025 NFL Draft.
Former New England Patriots starting linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley has dealt with injuries himself, but he's a highly productive starter with a lot of football under his belt who could be an asset and much-needed insurance for the Denver defense in 2025.
Broncos need to quickly sign Ja'Whaun Bentley after Dre Greenlaw scare
Greenlaw was one of the Broncos' biggest free agent acquisitions of the 2025 offseason which also included tight end Evan Engram and safety Talanoa Hufanga. The free agent signings did come with some red flags, as most free agent signings do, due to the previous injury history of the players.
The Broncos have acknowledge that Greenlaw likely would not even have been available at all if it weren't for the injuries he dealt with the past two seasons. The 49ers made a desperate attempt to re-sign Greenlaw by flying to his home and recruiting him, but he stuck with his decision to sign in Denver.
The Broncos know they are getting a potential game-changer at a position of weakness for the defense. Greenlaw is a sensational player when healthy, but the Broncos really need him to stay healthy. They also brought back Justin Strnad this offseason and have former third-round pick Drew Sanders transitioning back to the off-ball linebacker position, but additional veteran help wouldn't hurt.
Alex Singleton is still on the roster and is coming off of an injury himself. If a player like Ja'Whaun Bentley is willing to sign for a reasonable rate, he could potentially start next to Greenlaw anyway, forget just adding insurance. From 2020-2023, Bentley averaged 120 tackles and seven QB hits per 17 games played. He's a stud.
If the Broncos sign Bentley, they will at least be giving themselves a good shot at success this season at the linebacker position. Last year, they were caught in a tough situation when they ended up having to sign a bunch of street free agents in the middle of the year, giving regular season reps to Kwon Alexander, Kristian Welch, and Zach Cunningham to supplement a weak position group that couldn't afford an injury.
They have to be more proactive in avoiding that kind of situation in 2025, and the obvious way to do that is just to go ahead and sign Bentley ASAP.