A return is nearing for the Denver Broncos' free agent acquisition, Dre Greenlaw.

Denver designated the linebacker for return from the injured reserve on Wednesday. He made his long-awaited return to practice on Wednesday as the team gears up for its Week 7 matchup against the New York Giants.

Now, the Broncos can activate Greenlaw to the 53-man roster anytime in the next 21 days. If he is not activated by Denver after 21 days, he'll be forced to return to the IR for the remainder of the season. The earliest he is eligible to play is this Sunday against the 2-4 Giants.

It’s the news that Broncos fans have been waiting to hear all season after the team signed the 28-year-old to a three-year, $31.5 million contract in March.

“Throughout the whole [free agency], I was talking to [head coach Sean Payton] and there was never no ifs, ands, buts, maybes, this-or-that. It was, ‘We want you to be here,’” Greenlaw said back in July about his decision in strengthening an already great Denver defense. “I was a foster kid growing up, so it wasn’t a lot of times where people wanted me. It made me feel special. It made me feel like this is the place I needed to be.”

Since signing the dotted line with Denver, however, Greenlaw has had troubles with his quadriceps tendon. He first sustained the injury back in April and again in a July practice. Denver finally placed him on the IR ahead of Week 3 after he missed the team’s first two games of the season.

Injuries have defined Greenlaw’s past couple of years, only playing in two games for the San Francisco 49ers in 2024 after tearing his Achilles tendon in Super Bowl LVIII. Still, the Broncos were willing to give Greenlaw a big contract as he proved his playmaking abilities in the years prior with the 49ers.

In 30 games across the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he totaled 247 tackles, two forced fumbles, and an interception. When he’s been on the field, Greenlaw has been a game-changer, and Broncos fans will finally get the chance to see it in the coming weeks.

It may not be this week against the Giants, as he was listed as a limited participant on Wednesday, but Greenlaw should finally be making his Broncos debut in the near future. He’ll immediately provide a boost to the Denver defense and a much-needed spark to a Broncos team that hasn’t quite lived up to expectations in 2025.