Niners linebacker Dre Greenlaw suffered a torn Achilles in San Francisco’s 25-22 Super Bowl LVIII overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters following the game.
Greenlaw was carted off the field with the injury in the second quarter and ruled out just prior to halftime.
He had been watching a San Francisco punt with 9:16 remaining in the second frame, bouncing up and down on the sideline, and then tried to run on the field for his defensive possession when his leg stuck awkwardly in the ground.
The 26-year-old star went down and was attended to by trainers before being carted to the locker room.
The 49ers led 3-0 at the time of Greenlaw’s exit, with two forced punts and a forced fumble in the red zone.
Greenlaw has been a pivotal piece all year for the 49ers defense, which ranked third in scoring during the 2023 campaign.
He was second on the team with 120 tackles in the regular season and added four passes defensed, five tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks in 15 games.
He also led San Francisco with eight tackles in the team’s Divisional Round win over the Packers and added another seven in the NFC Championship Game versus the Lions.
The 49ers pushed the Chiefs to the brink while leaning on other defensive stars like Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, but they ultimately failed to pull out a victory in overtime.
Despite a stellar year, San Francisco has now gone since the 1994 season without winning a Lombardi Trophy. Meanwhile, Greenlaw faces a long road to recovery over the offseason after a brutal turn.
