49ers star Dre Greenlaw banned for one game after vicious headbutt on Seahawks rival

DAILYMAIL.COM • 2h ago

By ISABEL BALDWIN, US ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR 19:09 12 Oct 2026, updated 19:48 12 Oct 2026

San Francisco 49ers star Dre Greenlaw has been punished by the NFL for his shocking headbutt on his opponent during Sunday’s game.

Greenlaw was ejected from the 49ers showdown against the Seattle Seahawks after he delivered a headbutt to the unprotected head of Ernest Jones IV on the sidelines during the second quarter of the Week 5 win for San Francisco.

The Niners will now be without their No. 2 linebacker once again with Greenlaw hit with a one-game suspension for the ‘unsportsmanlike conduct.’

The ban, which was announced by the league on Monday afternoon, will see Greenlaw miss the 49ers’ Monday Night Football matchup against the Washington Commanders next week.

He will be eligible to return to the 49ers’ active roster on Tuesday, October 20 – the day following the Week 6 game.

Greenlaw is set to reportedly appeal the suspension, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Greenlaw may appeal the suspension. His appeal would be heard by the hearing officers jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and NFLPA to decide appeals of on-field player discipline.

Greenlaw was tossed during the second quarter after he sparked a heated confrontation on the Seattle sideline and shockingly headbutted an opponent.

Greenlaw was initially called for a personal foul for a late hit on Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold with 6:23 left in the second quarter.

However, he did not stop there. The Niners player continued to spark tensions as he found himself surrounded by Seahawks players following his pursuit of their quarterback.

He then became embroiled in a heated exchange with Seahawks middle linebacker Jones. But the verbal clash then turned physical when Greenlaw, still wearing his helmet, headbutted a helmetless Jones.

Jones appeared to briefly grab Greenlaw’s facemask causing the Niners linebacker to retaliate with his headbutt to Seahawks star’s unprotected skull.

Greenlaw was then ejected for the incident, leaving San Francisco without the linebacker for the remainder of the game.

Luke Gifford entered in place of Greenlaw, whose 15-yard penalty helped put Seattle in position for a field goal to cut the 49ers’ advantage to 14-13 shortly before halftime.

It was not the first time that Greenlaw has found himself tossed from a game throughout his NFL career.

He was ejected during a December 3, 2023, game against the Philadelphia Eagles when he scuffled with Eagles chief security officer Dom DiSandro.

Both DiSandro and Greenlaw were ejected in the third quarter of the 49ers’ win over the Eagles, as the Philly staffer tried to break up a scuffle and Greenlaw made contact with his face.

Greenlaw instigated chaos after body slamming DeVonta Smith out of bounds near Philly’s sideline, which resulted in a penalty.

Then, DiSandro, who’s worked for the Eagles for the last 28 years, pushed away Greenlaw while the 49ers star and Smith exchanged words. Greenlaw then poked a few fingers into DiSandro’s face.

Greenlaw was also hit with a $11,941 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct during last week’s win against the Denver Broncos.

During the first quarter of the game against his former team, Greenlaw had a brief exchange with head coach Sean Payton on the sidelines after making a tackle, appearing to taunt the Broncos chief.

‘I just pointed at him, to be honest,’ Greenlaw told reporters after the game. ‘I love all the players. Every single person that’s on that field over there. It was nothing.

‘There were a couple of them that weren’t there last year [and] they got to talk. But everybody else that I was with out there last year, for the most part, they know how to play the game. So it’s all love and respect.’

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