ENGLEWOOD – Dre Greenlaw wasn’t with his Broncos teammates last week, and he regrets that.

The inside linebacker was suspended by the NFL for last Sunday’s 44-24 win over Dallas after an incident following their 33-32 win over the New York Giants on Oct. 19. Greenlaw went after referee Brad Allen and was suspended for what the NFL called unsportsmanlike conduct for verbally threatening him.

“I just shouldn’t have put my teammates and team in that position,’’ Greenlaw said after Thursday’s practice at Broncos Park in his first comments since the suspension. “That was just an emotional game, first game back.”

Greenlaw, who signed a three-year, $31.5 million contract with the Broncos last March after six seasons with San Francisco, missed the first six games of the season due to a quad injury. In his first game back, he started against the Giants and played 21 snaps.

Greenlaw, who returned to practice Wednesday, didn’t have much to say Thursday about the specifics of the suspension. He was asked if he was surprised by the penalty since he didn’t make physical contact with Allen.

“Honest, they didn’t tell me,’’ Greenlaw said of the reason given to him by the NFL for the suspension. “They just … showed clips or whatever, but they’re going to make their decision, and all you can do is do what they tell you.”

Greenlaw said it was “very difficult” to watch the Broncos against the Cowboys.

“Of course, you want to be out there any time you got a game,” Greenlaw said.

Greenlaw is now looking forward to Sunday’s game at Houston.

“Having your best players back is always a good thing,’’ said Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.

“It’s great,’’ said defensive lineman Zach Allen. “Everybody saw how good he was against the Giants, so add that. It’s going to be huge against a physical team like Houston.”

The Broncos are No. 5 in the NFL in both scoring and total defense, and some of their players have talked about them having the best defense in the NFL. With Greenlaw getting back in the groove, Allen figures the Broncos can only be better.

“The defense is already a really, really good defense,’’ Greenlaw said. “We got top-notch guys from the back end to the front end. So the sky is the limit for what we have done and what we still got to do. We still got plenty more out there. … For me, it’s not about me coming in and trying to do more, be more or anything; it’s just about me going out there and being myself. That’s why they brought me here.”

With that in mind, Greenlaw wants to “show them what I can do” on defense.

Greenlaw was a stalwart for the 49ers from 2019 until he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Super Bowl LVIII against Kansas City in February 2024. He didn’t return after that with the 49ers until he played in two games last December, getting 34 total snaps. He then missed the final two games with a calf injury.

Injuries continued to bother Greenlaw after he signed with the Broncos. He missed spring drills with a quad injury suffered when working out. He then suffered a quad injury in practice on July 31 that Denver coach Sean Payton said was in a different place than his previous injury. That kept him out until he returned against the Giants.

“I thought it went well,’’ Greenlaw said of that game. “We won the game. It felt good for me to be able to go out there after a year and a half just to play some football and get my feet back wet.”

Joseph said Greenlaw “played well” against the Giants and is “locked in” and has “been studying” to face the Texans.

“Mentally he’s fine,’’ Joseph said. “Physically, obviously he needs more reps to kind of get his football air. He was a little tired (returning against the Giants). .. He’s back on his schedule to kind of just keep moving forward, and playing good football and keep practicing and keep going as a player. To have a chance to play back-to-back weeks is going to be key for Dre.”

When Greenlaw has been out, Justin Strand has filled in well at inside linebacker alongside Alex Singleton, who calls the defensive signals and is usually in for every play in games. Against the Giants, Strnad came off the bench to play 41 snaps, far more than Greenlaw did.

Greenlaw said communication on defense with him back regularly in the lineup should be no issue since he has been involved in practices and team meetings as well as having the game against the Giants. Greenlaw was asked how many more snaps he feels ready to play against the Texans.

“I can go all day,’’ he said.