Dre Greenlaw injures himself, ruled out for the rest of Super Bowl LVIII

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw has been officially ruled out for the rest of Super Bowl LVIII with an Achilles injury, according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.

Greenlaw was carted off the field after suffering a non-contact injury during the second quarter. The 49ers linebacker was jogging onto the field when he was caught on video falling to the turf. Greenlaw was taken to the blue medical tent and carted off shortly thereafter.

The fifth-year linebacker finished the game with three combined tackles. Greenlaw is a massive loss for the 49ers’ defense, covering the middle of the field alongside Fred Warner. He finished the 2023 regular season with 120 combined tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 4 passes defensed with a pair of interceptions during San Francisco’s playoff run.

Oren Burks was the initial substitution on the field when Greenlaw was taken out of the game. Burks is a competent replacement for Greenlaw, especially in the pass rush. The former Green Bay Packer set a career-high in pressures this regular season, tying Greenlaw’s mark of six according to Sports Info Solutions.

Linebacker coverage is extremely important for San Francisco’s short-yardage passing defense. According to Next Gen Stats, Mahomes finished the first half a perfect 9-for-9 when attempting passes 10 yards or fewer downfield.

San Francisco took Greenlaw out of Arkansas in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The 26-year-old had a combined 15 total tackles during the 49ers’ Divisional Round and NFC Championship victories over the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, respectively.

The 6-foot, 230-pounder had four total tackles in Super Bowl LIV, when the Niners and Chiefs previously met in the Big Game.