The San Francisco 49ers are reuniting with Dre Greenlaw, bringing him back on a one-year deal. The move makes sense considering the familiarity but the linebacker room just got crowded. Who is most impacted by the signing?
Dee Winters is most impacted by San Francisco 49ers signing Dre Greenlaw
The biggest impact is going to be Dee Winters. Last year Winters was expected to slide into the role of Greenlaw. In moments, he looked good, but the complete picture was not strong enough. Winters was adequate when Fred Warner was healthy but when Warner went down, the holes were exposed.
On the flip side, Greenlaw is adequate on his own, but becomes an excellent player when he is next to Warner. This is what makes the move a pretty notable upgrade. This is a big deal for Winters who is going to go from an every down player last year to fighting for the SAM role.
Luke Gifford held down that role last year, and played about 16% of the snaps. That is a significant dropoff in playing time. Winters may do well in the role, but that is not going to help him in the long term.
Winters is entering the last year of his rookie salary contract. The 49ers are unlikely to extend him and he is unlikely to play enough to prove that he deserves a new contract from a different team. Unless Greenlaw gets hurt, this move is going to cost Winters a chance to make millions of dollars.
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Nick Martin is impacted as well
Another player who is impacted by the move is Nick Martin. The rookie was supposed to sit for a season behind Winters and then step into the starting role, or at least compete with Winters if the 49ers did not want to extend him.
It turned out that the 49ers did not want to extend Winters, but they still were not comfortable enough with Martin to have him compete for the role. He is now third in that spot, and fourth amongst linebackers at best.
He would either have to change the role he plays, or look for multiple injuries before he can possibly see the field. Spending a third round pick on a potential special teams player is not what the 49ers wanted, but it appears to be what they are getting with Martin.
Unless things go wrong with Greenlaw, Martin and Winters are massive losers.