SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw was suspended for one game after head-butting Seattle’s Ernest Jones IV following a late hit on the Seahawks sideline.
The NFL issued the suspension on Monday, saying the headbutt of a player without a helmet during Sunday's 32-29 win against Seattle was "contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship.”
Greenlaw will miss San Francisco's game next Monday night against Washington pending an appeal.
Greenlaw has a history of infractions. He has been ejected two other times in his career. He had a sideline altercation with Philadelphia’s head of security Dom DiSandro in 2023 and was also disqualified for a helmet-to-helmet hit on the Chargers’ Justin Herbert in 2022.
Greenlaw was also suspended for one game last season when he played in Denver for berating an official after a win over the New York Giants.
Greenlaw was fined $11,941 for taunting the Broncos’ sideline in a win last week.
The latest infraction came in the second quarter on Sunday, when Sam Darnold scrambled and was hit late by Greenlaw after going out of bounds, leading to a personal foul in a game San Francisco went on to win 32-29.
Several Seahawks defenders immediately confronted Greenlaw after the hit and Greenlaw responded by head-butting Jones. Jones was bleeding after the hit and Greenlaw was ejected.
“You’re going to get baited big time when, especially when you’re on their bench,” coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game. “They told me that he had butted a guy without a helmet. So if that’s exactly what happened, then yeah, we got to be a lot smarter than that. Can’t do that.”
Greenlaw returned to San Francisco this season after playing for the Broncos in 2025. He has 37 tackles in five games.
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