49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw suspended one game for helmetless headbutt against Seahawks
Dre Greenlaw was suspended one game without pay for headbutting helmetless Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV during Sunday's 49ers win. He plans to appeal, and if the ban stands he will miss the Oct. 19 Monday night game against Washington.
The NFL has suspended San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw for one game without pay for headbutting a helmetless opponent during Sunday’s 32-29 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
The league announced the ban on Monday. During the second quarter, Greenlaw used his helmet to headbutt Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who was not wearing a helmet, violating the league’s rule against unsportsmanlike conduct, according to the league’s statement. Greenlaw can appeal; ESPN and NFL Network reported that he plans to do so.
The discipline stems from a second-quarter sequence on the Seattle sideline. Greenlaw hit Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold late after Darnold scrambled out of bounds at the San Francisco 47-yard line, drawing an unnecessary-roughness penalty. As Seahawks players surrounded Greenlaw, he and Jones moved toward each other and went nose-to-nose, and Greenlaw head-butted the helmetless Jones as officials stepped in, according to Field Level Media’s account. Referee Land Clark announced the ejection after the league’s officiating office in New York reviewed the incident.
Shanahan says Greenlaw has to be smarter
After the game, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Greenlaw had been baited on the Seattle sideline but still had to keep his composure. “You’re going to get baited big time, especially when you’re on their bench,” Shanahan said. “They told me that he headbutted a guy without a helmet. So, if that’s exactly what happened then we got to be a lot smarter than that. Can’t do that.”
It is the third ejection of Greenlaw’s eight-year career. He served a one-game suspension last season for allegedly threatening referee Brad Allen after a game, and last week he was fined $11,941 for unsportsmanlike conduct after repeatedly yelling at Denver’s sideline and coach Sean Payton during that game.
What it costs San Francisco
If the suspension stands, Greenlaw will miss the 49ers’ Monday night game against the Washington Commanders on Oct. 19. He would be eligible to return to the active roster on Oct. 20. The 29-year-old is second on the 49ers with 37 tackles this season, his first back with San Francisco after spending last season with the Denver Broncos.
Reporting based on coverage by Field Level Media via Reuters, USA Today and Touchdown Wire.
