There will be a handful of changes coming to the Indianapolis Colts defense with Lou Anarumo taking over as the coordinator.
While most of the attention on defense has been focused on the secondary, the Colts must find a replacement for linebacker E.J. Speed, who is set to enter free agency in March.
If the Colts need to fill a void left by Speed, they could look to a pending free agent hailing form the West Coast. ESPN’s Matt Bowen listed the Colts as the best option for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw.
“With new coordinator Lou Anarumo running the defense for the Colts, general manager Chris Ballard might consider having Greenlaw fill the weakside linebacker spot. Greenlaw played in only two games last season (Weeks 15-16) after tearing an Achilles in Super Bowl LVIII. But at full strength — which he is expected to be in 2025 — he is a rangy linebacker with the pursuit speed to track ball carriers and the coverage awareness to close throwing windows,” Bowen wrote.
Greenlaw is coming out of the last year of his two-year, $16 million deal with the 49ers and is projected to land a one-year, $6 million deal, per Spotrac.
Greenlaw was a productive piece in the middle of the 49ers defense before suffering the severe injury. During the 2022-2023 seasons — when he’s a full-time starter — Greenlaw averaged 124 tackles (79 solo), 10 passes defensed and eight tackles per loss.
Getting better production out of the linebacker room will be necessary for Anarumo’s defense so Greenlaw is a player to watch out if he hits the market next month.
