Getty
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton looks on against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Denver Broncos are starting the 2025 regular season on a bit of a sour note, made even more painful given the fanfare around their offseason. Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw, one of their prized free agent acquisitions, will miss the opener against the Tennessee Titans.
Greenlaw has a quad injury. He also had one that limited him in training camp and kept him out of the Broncos’ preseason slate.
Denver announced the decision in their final injury report of the week.
Broncos LB Dre Greenlaw to Miss Season Opener vs Titans
GettyDre Greenlaw #57 of the San Francisco 49ers leaves the field against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LVIII.
Greenlaw, 28, signed a three-year, $31.5 million contract with the Broncos in free agency this past offseason after six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. Greenlaw has an extensive injury history, tearing his Achilles tendon during the Super Bowl in 2023.
He suffered a foot injury that ended his comeback attempt early in 2024.
He also suffered a quad strain during the offseason program, but Broncos head coach Sean Payton said this strain is different, which is not necessarily good news.
The Broncos’ injury report includes several notable names, with defensive tackle Malcolm Roach officially inactive after speculation earlier in the week and tight end Nate Adkins joining him on the sidelines.
However, inside linebacker Alex Singleton, outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, and wide receiver Marvin Mims were all full participants throughout the week of practice.
They will not have an injury designation heading into the Titans tilt.
The Broncos have deftly navigated Greenlaw’s injury, but his being ruled out certainly garnered plenty of attention after he made headlines with his decision to sign with Denver despite a last-minute attempt by 49ers brass to change his mind.
Veteran Broncos reserve Justin Strnad will fill in for Greenlaw against the Titans.
Dre Greenlaw’s Agent Gets Honest About Trust in Denver Staff
GettyDre Greenlaw #57 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up before a game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Greenlaw’s agent, J.R. Carroll, expressed a great deal of confidence that the Broncos were operating in his client’s best interests.
“To be real honest, Dre’s always going to want to go as hard and fast as he can go — that’s Dre’s mentality, and a little bit of it, too, is he’s just missed the game so much,” Carroll told The Post’s Luca Evans on August 3 “There was a lot of, I think, holding back by the Broncos to try to keep him reined in so that he didn’t reinjure himself.
“I think they did an excellent job of managing his expectations.”
“Quite honestly, if it was a different organization, I may try to interject myself if I didn’t think that — or an organization has the reputation for not having the player’s best interest at heart, but have the organization’s best interest held first,” Carroll said, per Evans.
“And until they give me some indication that they’re going to do anything differently, I’m just kind of staying out of the kitchen.”
Payton declined to divulge more than what the injury report revealed on Friday.
Greenlaw played in two games in 2024. He set his career high with 15 starts in 2022 and then matched it in 2023 before his injury in the Super Bowl. Greenlaw’s career high in games played was in 2016, before the league went to an 18-week, 17-game regular season format.
Josh Buckhalter covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has covered both leagues since 2016, including bylines at FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He’s based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck More about Josh Buckhalter
More Heavy on Broncos
Loading more stories
