How Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw’s ‘menacing aura’ started a fight at 49ers camp 21%
By David Lombardi28%
7/31/2026, 3:20:00 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 25 faulty reasoning types, including Confirmation Bias, Representativeness Heuristic, and Availability Heuristic, with Anecdotal as the most egregious example at 11.8% saturation with 85 hits. Analysis detected 761 faulty-reasoning hits from 722 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 30.3% and a BS Rank of 21% (20,217 of 25,473 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 79.40% of the article peer group.
As a rookie in 2019, Dre Greenlaw announced his presence at 49ers training camp when he leveled veteran fullback Kyle Juszczyk out of bounds.
It was the type of hit that might’ve been commonplace in NFL camps two decades prior, but not anymore.
Greenlaw’s thud was a jarring eye-opener, and his play in the seven seasons since has followed a similarly violent theme.
On Friday, Greenlaw had a similar angle on 49ers superstar Christian McCaffrey.
The linebacker didn’t lower his shoulder this time, but he did shove McCaffrey into the turf.
The running back wasn’t happy.
He sprang up and thought of throwing the football at Greenlaw but instead pushed him in disgust.
Greenlaw thought of striking back but thought better of it.
Three plays later, though, his compatriot Fred Warner did not exhibit the same restraint.
Tight end Jake Tonges pushed off of Warner on a pass route.
Two officials threw flags for pass interference, but that didn’t satisfy the All-Pro linebacker.
Warner went after Tonges, and a team-wide brawl ensued.
It picked up real gusto after offensive lineman Colton McKivitz sprinted in from 20 yards away to reinforce Tonges.
When the dust settled, several players were on the ground in a dogpile.
Coach Kyle Shanahan, who’s still taking it easy as he recovers from injuries sustained in a car crash, watched calmly with his arms folded from about 10 yards away.
Shanahan typically doesn’t like fights, and neither does his top assistant, Chris Foerster.
“Fighting’s not something that we want at practice,” Foerster said afterward.
“Some of the most physical teams I’ve been on never fought in practice.
Some of the greatest defenses in Tampa — there was no fighting allowed.
If you fight, you’re thrown out of a game.
So to me, you don’t need to prove you’re a tough guy.
You want to prove you’re a tough guy?
Block better, play the defense better, play your techniques better.
When somebody talks crap, wait until the next play to make them pay for it.
… Fights are a waste of time and energy.
Absolute waste of time and energy.”
However, not all great teams have avoided fights.
In fact, the 1994 49ers — the team’s most recent Super Bowl champion — famously scuffled throughout all of camp.
Players like linebacker Gary Plummer Jr. credit exceptional physicality during practice for finally propelling the 49ers past the Dallas Cowboys that season.
And although we’re now in a decidedly different era of football, one might say that players like Greenlaw and Warner carry 1994 mentalities onto NFL fields in 2026.
New 49ers defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, traded from Dallas this past offseason, has no problem with that.
“Fred and Greenlaw have a menacing aura,” Odighizuwa said of his two new teammates.
“You can talk about ‘protect the team’ and stuff like that, but I just know, when it comes to guys like that, they just have one speed.
The way they practice is the way they play, so you really can’t argue with what they do or what they put on tape.”
Extra points
• Friday’s highlight came from 6-foot-5 receiver Mike Evans, who soared over 5-foot-9 defensive back Upton Stout to haul in a fantastic touchdown catch from QB Brock Purdy.
“I’ve told the quarterbacks, ‘When I’m covered, I’m still open if you throw it up with some air,’” Evans said.
“And Brock threw a great ball.”
Deebo Samuel, with whom the 49ers agreed to terms on Thursday, did not practice.
But he was in the building to take his physical.
The 49ers should be able to finalize the deal with Samuel by Saturday’s practice.
• The 49ers activated defensive tackle Alfred Collins from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
He practiced for the first time in 2026.
Collins underwent shoulder surgery early in the offseason and has fully recovered.
Fellow second-year defensive tackle C.J.
West did not practice Friday, but his undisclosed issue is considered minor.
• The 49ers signed veteran wide receiver Trenton Irwin, a teammate of McCaffrey’s at Stanford.
They also signed tight end Josiah Deguara, who was born in Santa Rosa and grew up in Sacramento.
They waived tight end Tanner McLachlan with an injury designation and waived defensive back Derrick Canteen.
Analysis
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