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October 31, 2026
49ers Notebook

Greenlaw has drawn league discipline in three of his six games

The NFL fined Dre Greenlaw $12,537 on Saturday for punching Drake London's helmet in Atlanta, a play that drew no flag. Jordan James was fined $6,194 for use of the helmet in the same game.

SK
Sam KezarOct 31, 20263 min read
Every call on this site goes on a public ledger and gets graded. The misses stay up.
Dre Greenlaw, in the 49ers' red home jersey and gold trousers, stands behind the line with his right arm extended, pointing across the formation, as Denver linemen in white crouch in the foreground at Levi's Stadium.

The NFL fined Dre Greenlaw $12,537 for unnecessary roughness, striking an opponent, from the 49ers' 29-20 loss at Atlanta on Oct. 25. Running back Jordan James was fined $6,194 for unnecessary roughness, use of the helmet, from the same game. NBC Sports Bay Area reported both on Saturday, and Tom Pelissero posted video of the Greenlaw play.

What Greenlaw did. He tried to punch the ball out of Drake London's arms and hit London's helmet instead, per NBC Bay Area. He finished with 12 tackles, four of them solo, which tied his season high from the Denver game.

Neither play drew a flag. The official game book charges San Francisco with seven penalties for 55 yards: false starts on Trent Williams and Brandin Cooks, encroachment on Osa Odighizuwa, illegal contact on Renardo Green, pass interference on Jack Jones, offside on James Thompson Jr. and holding on Connor Colby. Greenlaw and James appear on none of them. The league's review is a separate process from the officials' calls, and Saturday was its answer.

Three of six. Greenlaw has played six games this season: Weeks 1 through 5 and Atlanta. Three of them ended in league discipline. NBC Bay Area reports he was fined for taunting after exchanges with the Denver sideline on Oct. 4. He was ejected at Seattle on Oct. 11 and suspended one game, which cost him the Washington game on Oct. 19. Atlanta was his first game back. NBC Bay Area put the Denver fine at just under $12,000 when it was handed down, and puts his fines this season at $24,478.

James's afternoon. The reports do not say which play drew his fine. He touched the ball twice on offense: an 11-yard reception and a 6-yard run on which he fumbled, with Luke Farrell recovering at the Atlanta 28. Webzone's bye-week review named kickoff returns, not tailback, as his path to more playing time.

What it does not change. A fine is money, not availability. Both men are eligible for Las Vegas at Levi's Stadium on Nov. 8, the first game after the bye. No report says whether either player will appeal.

The roster. No 49ers transaction on Friday or Saturday through mid-afternoon on the league's wire or the club's newsroom. The 53 is full, with Kevin Givens's departure to Indianapolis on Friday leaving one open practice squad spot. The trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 10, two days after the Raiders game.

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The 49ers never hit Penix, and they gave Atlanta the ball four times

Atlanta beat San Francisco 29-20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, the 49ers' first loss, and they are 6-1 into the bye. San Francisco led 14-3 on the first play of the second quarter and Atlanta scored the next 23 points. The 49ers turned the ball over four times and Atlanta scored 13 points off them; Atlanta did not turn it over. The official game book credits the 49ers' defense with no sack, no quarterback hit and no pass defensed on Michael Penix Jr.'s 34 throws. Atlanta made four first downs by San Francisco penalty, three of them on its 90-yard touchdown drive. Christian McCaffrey left with a thigh injury after the second possession, returned for the third quarter and had 26 yards on six touches afterward. Kaelon Black ran for 60 yards in the first half, scored from 30 yards and lost a fumble one play after Jordan James fumbled. Christian Kirk played 20 snaps in his debut and was not targeted. Eddy Pineiro missed an extra point, his seventh missed kick in 34 tries this season, and Kyle Shanahan said the club would discuss the position on the plane.

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Greenlaw's suspension is over, and Kirk still needs a roster spot

The league lifted Dre Greenlaw's one-game suspension on Tuesday and put him on a roster exemption, and the 49ers released defensive tackle Naquan Jones the same afternoon. Fred Warner and Jaden Dugger played 67 and 64 of 67 defensive snaps on Monday with Greenlaw out. Jones's spot is the one Greenlaw needs, which leaves the 53 full again and means Christian Kirk, whose practice window closes Nov. 5, needs a second move. Kyle Shanahan said after Monday's win that Mike Evans's Achilles tendinitis is not a long-term thing; Ian Rapoport said on ESPN, per 49ers Webzone, that Evans will have to manage it for the better part of the season. Shanahan said he would be surprised to get Deebo Samuel or Demarcus Robinson back for Atlanta. James Thompson Jr. played 21 snaps on Monday in his return from an ankle injury. Luke Gifford (groin) and Upton Stout (shoulder) have no update since Monday; the first report of the short week follows Wednesday's practice.

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Christian Kirk returned to practice the day Mike Evans sat out

The 49ers opened Christian Kirk's 21-day practice window on Thursday, 81 days after he strained a calf on the first day of training camp, and Kyle Shanahan said he was ready to go after a strong weekend. Mike Evans did not practice with ribs and Achilles soreness, which leaves the receiver room thinner than Monday's count. Shanahan called injured reserve for Deebo Samuel 'a possibility.' Nick Bosa, James Thompson Jr. and Gracen Halton sat out Thursday; Kyle Juszczyk was limited. The club promoted Ogbo Okoronkwo to the 53 into the spot Greenlaw's suspension opened and signed linebacker Eugene Asante to the practice squad. Washington is at Levi's Stadium on Monday night.

Sam KezarOct 15, 20263 min read

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San Francisco beat Washington 23-17 to go 6-0, gaining 303 yards in the first half and 72 after it while Washington went from 90 to 224. Jayden Daniels completed 22 of 30 passes for 212 yards after halftime, almost all of them short, and Jaden Dugger and Fred Warner made the tackle on 11 of the 22, with Dre Greenlaw suspended, Garret Wallow inactive and Luke Gifford out after four snaps. Two of Washington's four first downs by penalty were illegal-contact calls on Renardo Green and Ashtyn Davis, the second wiping out a fourth-down sack; PFF graded Davis lowest of the 20 49ers defenders who played. Purdy threw 21 of his 29 passes to backs and tight ends, and after Evans left with his sore Achilles he threw nine more and one went to a wide receiver. Romello Height had four quarterback hits after missing Friday's practice. Greenlaw's suspension was lifted Tuesday; Christian Kirk is a possibility for Atlanta.

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Kyle Shanahan named nine 49ers who would not practice on Wednesday, the first day of Atlanta week, per the club's transcript. Seven were already hurt or inactive on Monday. The two new names are defensive end Mykel Williams (knee) and defensive back Siran Neal (knee), who both played against Washington. Nick Bosa (calf) did not practice, and Shanahan said he hopes Bosa is out there Thursday. On Mike Evans's Achilles tendinitis, Shanahan said the club managed it last week and is managing it this week. Dre Greenlaw and Christian Kirk were set to practice, per Shanahan, and Greenlaw is still on a roster exemption, not the 53. The club signed Naquan Jones back to the practice squad a day after releasing him, and released linebacker Eugene Asante to make room.

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The 49ers ruled Christian Kirk out for Monday night against Washington at 1:08 p.m. Pacific, five days after opening his practice window off injured reserve, and elevated linebacker Jalen Graham and receiver Malik Turner from the practice squad in the same release. The club has 21 days from Oct. 15 to put Kirk on the 53, and the only game left inside that window after Monday is at Atlanta on Oct. 25; the bye follows. The inactive list posted at 3:44 p.m.: Kurtis Rourke, Enrique Cruz Jr., Deebo Samuel, Garret Wallow, Marques Sigle, Nick Bosa and Naquan Jones. Mike Evans, Gracen Halton, Mykel Williams, Siran Neal and Upton Stout, all questionable Saturday, are active, and Kyle Juszczyk returns. The receivers in uniform are Evans, Brandin Cooks, Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins and Turner. Graham, a 2023 seventh-round pick with 15 career games, covers for Garret Wallow and the suspended Dre Greenlaw. Washington activated three players from injured reserve and put two on it.

Sam KezarOct 19, 20263 min read

On the record

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Held upJul 29, 2026

Kaelon Black is on the San Francisco 49ers' initial 53-man roster as announced at the August 30, 2026 mandatory cut. Scored off the initial 53 only: the practice squad is a miss, a later signing or elevation after the initial roster is a miss, and being placed on injured reserve from the initial 53 counts as a hit.

Black is a rookie running back whose Wednesday workload increased because Jordan James fractured a rib, which is the most fragile possible reason to be getting reps. If James is back before cut day the reps go with him. Against the call: the 49ers carried McCaffrey plus a thin room behind him, and a back who has taken first-team-adjacent work in camp is usually kept over a body they would have to teach. This resolves in 32 days and it is genuinely close.

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