Dre Greenlaw set to miss most of offseason team activities following thumb surgery
On Thursday, the 49ers defensive star explained to “Papa & Lund” that he had offseason surgery.
San Francisco 49ers star and elite NFL linebacker Dre Greenlaw will be recovering for some time.
On Thursday, he told KNBR's "Papa & Lund" that he underwent what he described as "minor" thumb surgery. As a result, he won't be heavily involved in San Francisco's organized offseason workouts that began earlier in the week in Santa Clara.
“Yeah, nothing major,” Greenlaw said. “Just a little clean up in the thumb. [It] was giving me some problems, just whenever I was punching at the ball or whenever I had to use my hands on O-linemen. [My] finger was just really jammed up, so I just had to get it cleaned up and fixed.
“It’s going really well right now, so I’m just waiting, I guess. Now, I think they’re going to keep me out of OTAs for the most part, just because you don’t want any setbacks right now. But it’s going really well.”
Greenlaw had a productive 2022 campaign. He collected 82 solo tackles and two forced fumbles. He finished one vote shy of an All-Pro nod. And his 127 total tackles tally had him ranked in the top 20 in the NFL.
His thumb injuries meant that he was not a participant in OTAs. The changes made to the 49ers' defense, including a change in defensive coordinator (hiring Steve Wilks), and missing Greenlaw throughout the offseason, will limit San Francisco's ability to hit the ground running in training camp.
That isn't to suggest that Greenlaw's absence will tank the Niners' defensive potential. But having one of the team's leaders miss an extended amount of time creates a precarious situation that makes for difficult sledding.
Working in San Francisco's favor is the fact that Wilks will run a similar scheme to former defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans. Still, linebacker depth is a concern of the 49ers, and not having one of the leaders of the group as he rehabs is a difficult circumstance to account for.
Already Greenlaw has been at the team's facility for the past two months preparing for the upcoming season. And once he's cleared to play, he hopes to at least pick up where he left off last season.
