Dre Greenlaw's return from a suspension came with a bill of its own. The NFL has fined the San Francisco 49ers linebacker $12,537 for unnecessary roughness after a punch that landed on Atlanta Falcons receiver Drake London's helmet during the 49ers' 29-20 Week 7 loss.
However, NFL fans were quick to push back on the league's call to serve down the fine.
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Dre Greenlaw's $12,537 Fine Gets Pushback
Greenlaw appeared to be going for the ball, trying to punch it out of London's grasp, but he connected with the receiver's helmet instead. London briefly left the game for a concussion evaluation after the contact but was cleared to return. Officials did not throw a flag on the play.
Greenlaw still had a busy afternoon in his return, finishing with 12 tackles, four of them solo, one behind Fred Warner's team-high 13, albeit in a loss.
Pro Football Network's NFL LB Impact Grade
gave him a 73.4 for the game, 35th of 75 graded linebackers that week.
As news of Greenlaw's fine spread, one fan wrote, "He's clearly trying to punch the ball out."
Another went a step further: "If London doesn't lower his head, this would be fine, right? League gone too soft."
Another fan minced no words: "So soft bro."
Meanwhile, this fan tweeted
that the "NFL is ridiculous" for imposing these fines.
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The 49ers were penalized seven times for 55 yards in the loss but not for Greenlaw's punch. Notably, the fine also came to light six days after the final whistle, with San Francisco on its bye week before it hosts the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 8.
One fan wrote, "The NFL reviewing every play for fines."
Another fan replied, "They keep getting fined for things the refs won't flag them for. Must be nice."
Greenlaw has now drawn league discipline for the third time this season. He had previously been fined $11,941 for taunting toward the Broncos sideline after a first-quarter tackle in San Francisco's Week 4 win over Denver. That franchise had let him go earlier this year.
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Then came a one-game suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct. In the 49ers' Week 5 game at Seattle on Oct. 11, he headbutted a helmetless Ernest Jones IV during a sideline altercation. Greenlaw appealed, but the ruling was upheld, and he sat out San Francisco's Week 6 game against the Washington Commanders.
That was also the second suspension of his career, after a one-game ban in 2025 for confronting referee Brad Allen. He had also been ejected twice before, for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in 2022 and for shoving the face of Philadelphia Eagles head of security Dom DiSandro, who had confronted him, in 2023.
The latest fine is the bigger of Greenlaw's two this season, and it brings his 2026 total to $24,478.
This article originally appeared on
Pro Football Network
.
