The Denver Broncos are not messing around in the first day of NFL Free Agency, as news broke that they agreed to terms with Dre Greenlaw. While Greenlaw may not have been their first choice, he is certainly a very good player at a positon of need for the Broncos. The news broke on Monday night that Denver and Greenlaw are in agreement of a three-year contract worth $34 million.
This is a huge signing for the Denver Broncos, as they have been missing a true enforcer and tone setter in the middle of their defense for years now. Heading into the 2024 NFL Season, Alex Singleton and Cody Barton were their ILB starters, but when Singleton went down with that torn ACL, Justin Strnad was thrust into the lineup.
The Denver Broncos will be signing Dre Greenlaw
Cody Barton will soon sign with the Tennessee Titans, so the Broncos ended up ultimately choosing what could be a starting duo of Singleton and Greenlaw to open up the 2025 NFL Season.
Greenlaw turns 28 years old in May and was a fifth-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers back in the 2019 NFL Draft. In his NFL career up to this point, he has amassed 455 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and nine QB hits. He's also got 14 passes defended and three interceptions.
Greenlaw has played in two Super Bowls and has 12 games of playoff experience, so he is quite reliable in that regard. He was not the only former San Francisco 49ers defender to agree to terms with the Denver Broncos today, though. Saftey Talanoa Hufanga will be heading to Mile High as well, and the team also re-signed DJ Jones, who was once a San Francisco 49er as well.
It's the "Denver 49ers" if you will on the defensive side of the ball. But if you look at what Denver has done on Monday; they have filled two massive defensive needs and can definitely take a more flexible approach to the 2025 NFL Draft. It would shock me if they did not come away with one or two playmakers on the offensive side of the ball in the coming days, though.
Bo Nix needs some weapons, but to that point, it is easier to fill needs on defense in free agency than it is on the offensive side of the ball. Being able to land Dre Greenlaw is a great move for the attitude and culture of this defense.