The San Francisco 49ers will be without starting linebacker Dre Greenlaw when they face quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders on Monday night.
The NFL suspended Greenlaw for one game after he headbutted Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV on the sideline during the 49ers' Week 5 matchup. Greenlaw wore a helmet, while Jones did not.
Greenlaw was ejected from the game and will miss Monday night's contest against the Commanders while serving his suspension.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Friday and said Greenlaw regrets his actions and understands the difficult situation his suspension has created for the defense.
Shanahan was asked how he balances embracing Greenlaw's on-field intensity with emphasizing the importance of making good decisions.
"I use Dre as our example. I think he's unbelievable at it," Shanahan said. "He messed up when he got bum-rushed on the sideline, and that guy approached him and put his face into him, and Dre headbutted him back. He messed up on that, and I totally understand that, but how Dre plays football, how he plays between the white lines, I think he controls his emotions really well.
"You're not going to go see Dre throw a punch on someone after the game or anything like that. You're not going to see those things with him.
"It was disappointing to lose him for—I see it as two games because it's seven quarters, but it is what it is. We're going to have a challenge without him this week."
Although the 49ers will miss Greenlaw's impact and aggressive defense, Shanahan said he feels particularly bad for the linebacker.
"I feel more bad for Dre just missing his game check and not being able to be with us for this week, but he has a lot of remorse about doing that," Shanahan said. "He didn't even realize he did that in the heat of battle.
"When you land over in enemy territory, and you get up, and people are just in your face, I don't even think he's thinking whether a guy has a helmet or not. He just sees people approaching him, and once he realized he did that—I remember seeing him in the locker room at halftime, how bad he felt.
"But he couldn't take that back. He had to pay the punishment that game, and unfortunately he's got to pay it for one more week, too."
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