WATCH: Dre Greenlaw ejected following vicious hit on Justin Herbert
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw was ejected from Sunday Night Football’s matchup between the Chargers and 49ers. He was ejected after he laid a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit on LA Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert late in the second quarter.
Check out the hit below and see for yourself.
The hit happened kind of incidentally, since 49ers’ corner Jimmie Ward hit Herbert from the side, before Greenlaw came in with his hit. Greenlaw definitely hit Herbert helmet-to-helmet, but Football Night in America’s Tony Dungy strongly disagreed with the ejection from the game.
Greenlaw is one of the 49ers’ best defenders and it changes the complexion of the game entirely for their defense. He had seven tackles in the first half alone. Coming into Sunday night’s game, Greenlaw had racked up 58 tackles in seven games for the 2022 season.
The surprising part was that Herbert wasn’t stunned or anything after the hit. He was standing up and ready to take the next snap late in the second quarter, before referees blew the whistle to get him evaluated for a head trauma. The NFL has been excessively cautious with head trauma following the Tua Tagovailoa debacle with the Miami Dolphins and their medical staff.
Still, pulling Herbert out of the game was definitely the correct call, especially since the former Oregon star suffered such a severe blow to the head. He appeared to be completely fine after the hit, which was the most surprising part of the whole play.
Coming out of the locker room to begin the second half, LA head coach Brandon Staley told Football Night in America’s Melissa Stark that Herbert was okay and that he’ll be back in the game in the second half. Chargers’ backup quarterback Chase Daniel was brought in the game to replace Herbert while he was being medically evaluated.