The NFL on Monday suspended San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw for one game without pay following an altercation in which he headbutted a helmetless opponent on the opposing sideline.
The discipline stems from an incident during the second quarter of San Francisco’s 32-29 road victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Greenlaw shoved Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold out of bounds, drawing a personal foul flag. While standing along the Seattle bench area, Greenlaw was confronted by multiple Seahawks players and thrust his helmeted head into linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who was not wearing a helmet. Jones was left bleeding from the contact, The Guardian reported, and officials immediately ejected Greenlaw from the contest.
In a statement detailing the penalty, the league cited Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which prohibits any action deemed “contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship.”
Prior discipline and pending appeal
Greenlaw intends to appeal the one-game ban, according to NFL Network. Under the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association, appeals are evaluated by jointly appointed hearing officers Derrick Brooks, Jordy Nelson, Ron Rivera or James Thrash.
Sunday’s disqualification was not the first disciplinary incident of Greenlaw’s career. The defender was suspended for one game in 2025 while playing for the Denver Broncos after berating a game official following a victory against the New York Giants. He was also ejected from two earlier games with San Francisco: once in 2022 for a helmet-to-helmet tackle on Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, and again in 2023 following a sideline confrontation with Philadelphia Eagles head of security Dom DiSandro.
Following Sunday’s game, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the confrontation and stressed the need for composure in hostile environments.
“You’re going to get baited big time when, especially when you’re on their bench,” Shanahan said, according to The Guardian. “They told me that he had butted a guy without a helmet. So if that’s exactly what happened, then yeah, we got to be a lot smarter than that. Can’t do that.”
Impact on upcoming schedule
Greenlaw re-signed with the 49ers this year after his single-season stint in Denver. Through the first five weeks of the 2026 regular season, the linebacker recorded 37 combined tackles and forced one fumble.
If the suspension is upheld, Greenlaw will sit out San Francisco’s Week 6 matchup against the Washington Commanders on Monday, Oct. 19, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. He would not be eligible to return to the active roster until Tuesday, Oct. 20. With his availability uncertain pending the appeal, the 49ers may need to turn to backup linebacker Garret Wallow or adjust defensive packages ahead of the prime-time contest.
