He’s back. Kind of.
The Broncos could have their projected starting weak-side linebacker back as early as Sunday’s matchup with the New York Giants, as linebacker Dre Greenlaw was healthy and a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice. The Broncos announced Wednesday afternoon that they’ve opened Greenlaw’s 21-day window to return from injured reserve, meaning he’ll have to play within the next three weeks or be shut down for the rest of the season.
“He practiced today, he practiced today,” head coach Sean Payton said Wednesday, refusing to budge on any more details around Greenlaw’s timetable. “He’s been working out — like, he’s been rehabbing, and today was a good day.”
Greenlaw’s status has been topsy-turvy since July, when he came up limping in training camp after tearing his quad earlier in the spring. Any optimism for a return in Week 3 against the Chargers was squashed as the team placed him on injured reserve, as a source previously told The Denver Post Greenlaw had suffered a small setback in his recovery.
“We felt like the last thing we wanted to do was have him come out too early,” Payton said then, “and reinjure it.”
Such setbacks have primarily relegated the linebacker to watching from the sidelines and leading the Broncos’ linebackers in pregame huddles. Greenlaw has flown out of Denver for rehab over the last month; he also traveled with the team on their extended road trip to Philadelphia and then London last week.
Finally, he’s poised — sometime in the upcoming weeks — to make his debut in a Denver jersey and play in a football game for the first time in 10 months. Greenlaw was seen running through linebacker drills during the viewing period of Wednesday’s practice and lining up in walkthrough, a sight that’s been rare since that first setback in July. His last limited availability at practice came Sept. 12, the Friday before the Broncos’ Week 2 matchup with the Colts.
After a shaky start, Vance Joseph’s defense has steadied in the middle without their $35 million free-agent signee. Starting middle linebacker Alex Singleton had his best game of the season against the Jets in London, and Justin Strnad has rounded into one of the best inside-linebacker blitzers in the NFL.
A healthy Greenlaw, though, offers coverage skills that Joseph simply doesn’t have with the personnel in the middle of his current scheme, and Greenlaw’s ability to both play the run and drop back could open up more defensive-back-heavy variations for the Broncos.
“Dre looked good,” cornerback Pat Surtain II said Wednesday. “He looked good out there. Obviously, his first day back out there on the field in a minute. It seems like he’s very sharp on everything, on the game plan. So, very excited for him.”
Greenlaw has played just two games total over the last two seasons, since tearing his Achilles in a freak moment running out from the sidelines in February 2024’s Super Bowl. In 2022 and 2023, though, he was one of the best weak-side linebackers in the NFL, with a combined 247 tackles in 30 games.
Nuts and bolts: Outside linebacker Jonah Elliss continues a slow road back from a shoulder injury, as he was seen during the viewing period of Wednesday’s practice but didn’t end up doing any team work. Fellow OLB Jonathon Cooper was also limited with a quad injury and seen doing rehab work on the side field, but spoke with media after practice, indicating no real threat to his status for Sunday’s game.
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Originally Published: October 15, 2025 at 2:53 PM MDT