The San Francisco 49ers shored up their linebacking group by re-signing Luke Gifford and bringing back Dre Greenlaw. The Niners posted a photo of Gifford wearing No. 57 on their Instagram. Fans couldn’t help but wonder if Gifford would give Dre back his number.
Fret not, as Gifford replied on social media, saying, “Guys don’t worry…5-7 is all Dre.” That was a move that was always going to happen. Gifford had been with the team for one season, while Greenlaw, up until last year, was with the 49ers, wearing No. 57 since his rookie year in 2019.
I’m more interested in seeing how the linebacker roles shake out. If you recall, the 49ers brass flew out to attempt to recruit Greenlaw last offseason. Now, they get their guy back.
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However, Dee Winters goes from a player who played on every down, started all 17 games, and will now be relegated to SAM linebacker? Winters is probably better in man-to-man coverage than Dre, but there’s no denying the impact Greenlaw has as a run defender. Last offseason, Kyle Shanahan said Greenlaw was one of the best run-and-hit linebackers he had ever seen.
Will Winters play on passing downs over Greenlaw? In Raheem Morris’s scheme, Winters might be the linebacker to walk down on the line of scrimmage when the defense goes to 5-man fronts. There’s some positional versatility and flexibility that could get both players on the field.
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