Broncos to activate former 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw off injured reserve for Giants game

The NFL world will not yet forget about Dre After an encouraging week ramping back up to a full participant in practice the Broncos are activating inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw off injured reserve for Sunday s matchup with the New York Giants the association broadcasted Saturday The writing was on the wall since Greenlaw was listed as questionable on Friday s injury document and Denver waived QB Sam Ehlinger to create a roster spot Ehlinger was signed to the practice squad on Saturday as expected Now the stage is set for Greenlaw to make his debut in a Broncos jersey Denver signed Greenlaw to a three-year deal in free agency with the hopes he d be a difference-maker in toughness and coverage in the middle of the defense Setbacks across rehab from a quad tear suffered in April though pushed his timeline back so substantially that Denver placed him on injured reserve in Week Now though the inside linebacker feels like his normal self as father Brian Early previously described The Denver Post Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph declared this week that his return would maybe be in a part-time role and Joseph made clear that fill-in Justin Strnad will still receive a package of snaps moving forward It s clear too that Joseph views Greenlaw as more of an upgrade rather than a system-shifting force It won t change much schematically Joseph explained this week I think obviously when you have a good athlete it helps you become a better defense So schematically a lot of things won t change He s been a great athlete for a long time and that won t change Greenlaw grew into one of the best linebackers in the league in San Francisco in and but missed all but two games in rehabbing from an Achilles tear He feels like there s a part of him missing when he s not able to do what he was born to do Early advised The Post His return will no doubt be emotional inside of a Broncos-Giants matchup that s already brimming with plenty of juice