On Saturday, the Denver Broncos placed Dre Greenlaw on IR in what might be the most disappointing move of the season.
The Broncos signed Greenlaw to a three-year deal last offseason worth $31.5 million. It was a huge move to bolster the ILB room, a position that hasn't been all that greta for the team in recent years. Unfortunately, that's the only notable move that the team made.
Denver banked on Alex Singleton returning from a torn ACL suffered at the beginning of the 2024 NFL Season, but the early returns with him have been brutal. Now with Greenlaw on IR, the Broncos feel like they have taken a step back at the position at the wrong time.
Broncos won't see Greenlaw until Week 7, at least
Dre Greenlaw will be out Weeks 3, 4, 5, and 6 at least and can return in Week 7 against the New York Giants.
Breaking: The Broncos have placed LB Dre Greenlaw on short-term IR (quad) with the ability to return as soon as Week 7 vs the Giants, per sources.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) September 20, 2025
The move will allow Greenlaw to fully recover and be ready to help the Broncos in the second half of the season. pic.twitter.com/kB77bX2qc5
In the meantime, you have to hope that the Broncos make a move or two at the position to try and get better. Simply put, the Broncos cannot go forward with the due of Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, as Drew Sanders is still out.
The other linebackers of note are Karene Reid and Levelle Bailey. It feels like for years now, Denver just has not gotten as seirous as they should have been with this position, and this is now the best team the front office has fielded since that Super Bowl team.
And for the linebacker position to be as bad as it it right now is flat-out inexcusable. It's clear that the Broncos banked on Dre Greenlaw being able to stay healthy when they signed him, as they have been one of the least-injured teams in the NFL during Sean Payton's tenure.
However, that hasn't been the case. Denver has gone backwards at the position.