49ers HC Kyle Shanahan Says there's No Timeline for Dre Greenlaw's Return

Unfortunately for the 49ers, they need Greenlaw back desperately.

Feb 6, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) during a press conference before Super Bowl LVIII at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It doesn't seem like Dre Greenlaw will return to the field any time soon.

Greenlaw ruptured his Achilles during the Super Bowl in February. A few months ago, head coach Kyle Shanahan said he expected Greenlaw to be ready to play by midseason. Well, Week 4 is upon us, which means midseason is about a month away.

On Monday, Shanahan was asked if there's a timeline for when Greenlaw approximately will come back.

"No," Shanahan said. "When I said out at the beginning of the year, I was hoping mid-season. I haven't asked here in the last couple weeks, but that was what it was at the beginning of the year and still hoping that. But mid-season is still a ways away."

Shanahan makes a key distinction between expecting and hoping. Hoping someone comes back by midseason doesn't mean he will come back by then. I hope I'm going to win the lottery but I don't expect to win it. Big difference.

It sounds like the 49ers are being extremely conservative with Greenlaw's rehabilitation process, which is smart because a ruptured Achilles can ruin a player's career. There's no guarantee that Greenlaw will bounce back to being the player he was before this injury. It's possible he won't be good anymore when he returns. So rushing him back to the field would be a mistake.

Unfortunately for the 49ers, they need Greenlaw back desperately. They can't stop the run without him, nor can they cover tight ends. Their defense is in shambles and it doesn't seem like Greenlaw can save them.