Dre Greenlaw was fined $11,941 last week for taunting the Denver Broncos, his former team. On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers linebacker did not make it to halftime at Lumen Field.
Greenlaw was ejected late in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks after a sequence that began with a scrambling Sam Darnold near the Seattle sideline. With about 6:30 left before the break and San Francisco leading 14-10, Greenlaw shoved Darnold out of bounds and into the Seahawks’ bench area, drawing a 15-yard penalty that moved Seattle to the San Francisco 32.
Several Seattle players converged on him, and in the scrum Greenlaw headbutted Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who was not wearing a helmet. Fred Warner, Osa Odighizuwa and Ji’Ayir Brown were among the teammates who pulled him away before officials sent him to the locker room.
The 49ers maintained their unbeaten runs anyway, 32-29, on Eddy Piñeiro’s 44-yard field goal with 1:56 left. Kyle Shanahan was asked afterward if he disagreed with the ejection.
“You’re going to get baited big time, especially when you’re on their bench,” Shanahan said. “If that’s exactly what happened, then yeah, we’ve got to be a lot smarter than that. Can’t do that.”
Shanahan added that he had not spoken with Greenlaw yet. “We’ll clean that stuff up tomorrow,” he said.
#49ers LB Dre Greenlaw has been ejected after a late hit on Sam Darnold and then headbutting LB Ernest Jones.
https://t.co/q1nu9cIwrz
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 11, 2026
How the 49ers locker room saw it
Warner helped drag Greenlaw out of the pile, and he said afterward he wished he had gotten there sooner.
“In the moment, I’m mad that I’m not closer to try to help him out,” Warner said. “He’s helpless in that situation. He’s all by himself on their sideline.”
“Good on them for baiting him into doing something,” Warner added. His coach agreed Seattle had set the trap and still expected Greenlaw to walk around it.
Sunday was not Greenlaw’s first ejection
He was tossed in December 2023 in Philadelphia after a sideline altercation with Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro, and in November 2022 he was sent off during a win over the Chargers for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Justin Herbert.
Sunday’s flag was his eighth career personal foul.
He returned to San Francisco on a one-year deal after the Broncos let him go following an injury-riddled season in Denver. In the Week 4 win over the Broncos, he led the team in tackles and pressures before drawing the taunting fine.
The same emotion that fueled that game handed Seattle 15 free yards and took him off the field one week later, in a game San Francisco won by three points.
San Francisco leaves Seattle at 5-0 with a two-game lead in the NFC West. Greenlaw now waits on the league office for a second straight week.
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