Dre Greenlaw Gets Ejected After Sideline Incident

The San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw was ejected during a game against the Seattle Seahawks after a sideline headbutt involving Ernest Jones. Officials removed him in the second quarter after reviewing the incident because the act was classified as a non-football act.

According to ninerswire.usatoday.com, Greenlaw was flagged after hitting Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold when Darnold went out of bounds. The situation escalated during a scuffle on the Seattle sideline when Greenlaw headbutted Jones, who was not wearing a helmet.

The NFL determined that the action warranted disqualification, with Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth explaining the review process after the game.

"The clubs passed a rule this year that the AMGC (Art McNally Gameday Central in New York) can actually eject a player even when there is not a flag down on the field for the action. But in this case, there was a flag down on the field. When they went to the sideline, the player in question actually head-butted a non-helmeted player on the sideline. We have a very specific process we go through. (NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations) Troy Vincent let us know that the player was ejected, so then I communicated with the field to inform them that number 57 was ejected from the game for a non-football act," said Mark Butterworth, Vice President of Instant Replay.

According to ninerswire.usatoday.com, Greenlaw's ejection left San Francisco without a key defensive player, but the 49ers defense recovered during the game. The team will avoid further disruptions from similar in-game incidents.

The league's decision followed a review of the sideline confrontation, with the NFL treating the headbutt as a dangerous action because Jones was not wearing a helmet during the contact.