Knee tightness ended Dre Greenlaw's night early

49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw made his 2024 debut on Thursday night, his first game action since a fluke Achilles tendon tear as he moved from the sideline to the field during Super Bowl LVIII.

He participated in 30 defensive snaps and one special-teams rep before exiting in the third quarter.

"He was unbelievable tonight," coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after the 12-6 loss to the Rams. "And I think we played, I think we took him off, I'm not exactly sure, but I think we took him off the first two series to start the third quarter. I believe he went in two plays and just couldn't get it going again and felt a little tightness and stuff. So, we had to be safe with him.”

Greenlaw said it wasn't the surgically-repaired tendon, but his knee.

“This knee kind of felt a little weird, so I just wanted to protect myself a little bit," Greenlaw said. "The knee kind of didn't feel right and everything kind of got a little tight. Got to make sure I use precaution on it.”

A fifth-round pick in 2019, Greenlaw is in the final year of his second contract with the 49ers.