The NFL has further punished San Francisco 49ers star Dre Greenlaw after he continued his violent – and expensive – start to the season with a sucker punch to the helmet of Falcons star Drake London.
Greenlaw was handed a one-game suspension for a vicious Week 5 headbutt on Seattle Seahawks Ernest Jones IV, who was left bleeding when the Niners star slammed his helmet into his bare head.
The 49ers linebacker – who was ejected from the game immediately – opted to appeal the ban, but was quickly rejected and missed the Week 6 win over the Washington Commanders, forfeiting his $200,000 game check in the process.
He returned to the field for San Francisco last week in the surprise loss to the Falcons, but he was again back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons when cameras caught him aiming a brutal sucker punch to the helmet of London.
The Atlanta wide receiver had the ball and was attempting to break through a tackle when Greenlaw stopped him in his tracks by punching his helmet, forcing his opponent to head for a concussion test.
The NFL opted against giving Greenlaw another ban, but has now slapped him with a hefty $12,537 fine for unnecessary roughness.
Dre Greenlaw has had a violent start to the NFL season with multiple fines and a suspension
The NFL fined him $12,537 fine for unnecessary roughness after he punched Drake London
Greenlaw claimed to have been trying to punch the ball out of London’s hands during Atlanta’s 29-20 win over San Francisco, missing the target and instead landing a blow to his opponent’s helmet.
No penalty was called by the officials at the time, but replays showed the punch clearly and the NFL has now acted ahead of the Niners’ Week 8 game against Las Vegas.
Greenlaw has a history of infractions, and has been ejected three times in his eight-year NFL career – all of which in the last four years.
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.
In his previous game, Greenlaw was ejected for headbutting Ernest Jones and drawing blood
Jones is walked back to the locker room after being ejected for his headbutt back in Week 5
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 on October 4.
His infraction against the Seahawks on October 11 came in the second quarter, when Sam Darnold scrambled and was hit late by Greenlaw after going out of bounds, leading to a personal foul.
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.
