The Vikings’ Skipper Swats Away Top Trade Rumor
Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard is going to stick around. That’s Kevin O’Connell’s expectation, at least.
The Vikings’ skipper chatted with the media earlier in the day. O’Connell didn’t deny that trade calls have taken place before articulating a desire to keep the veteran in the Twin Cities: “I’m excited about Jonathan Greenard in year three with us and excited about where our team is going to go with him as a big part of our defense.”
“I expect him to be part of our team,” O’Connell went on to say. “I know there’s always conversations. There’s conversations this week, there’s conversations throughout the offseason.”
O’Connell, in short, thinks that he’s sticking around even with the reality of league interest shining through. We’ll see how accurate that assessment ends up being with the 2026 NFL Draft being less than a month away.
The Vikings’ Skipper Wants His EDGE1 to Stay
Mr. Greenard had a reasonably modest 2025 season.
The consistently disruptive pass rusher was consistently disruptive. What made life a touch discouraging for the veteran was that he rarely turned his strong rep into a sack, which is the coveted currency for an edge rusher. He was like a goal scorer who kept hitting the post, leading to an unusually low level of goals even if the shot was still dangerous.
In a dozen games, Jonathan Greenard had 38 tackles to stand alongside his 3 sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 12 tackles for loss. He had 3 passes defended tossed into the mix (think batting down balls at the line of scrimmage, not carrying Ja’Marr Chase deep down the field). Topping it off was a single forced fumble.
The folks at PFF handed him a 74.2 grade, a healthy number.
Greenard deserves to be paid more money. At $19 million per season, the Vikings’ EDGE1 is reasonably searching for a pay raise. He’s already moving into his seventh NFL season and is going to turn 29 in May, meaning he’s running out of years to land huge money.
Plus, the broader context of NFL pass rusher pay offers reason to negotiate new terms. Many others far exceed what Greenard is demanding from within his four-year contract that sits at a total of $76 million. The high-end of the market belongs to Micah Parsons at $46.5 million per year with Aidan Hutchinson ($45M), T.J. Watt ($41M), Danielle Hunter ($40.1M), and Myles Garrett ($40M) all seeing a “4” at the front of the yearly compensation.
Each of the above players is better than Greenard. None is twice as good (let alone more than twice as good).
If a team wants Jonathan Greenard, then the price will be high.
The consensus within the NFL rumblings has settled in at a Day 2 selection — something in the 2nd or 3rd — but that appears to be light, at least to my eye. Excellent edge rushers in the prime of their career on team-friendly deals aren’t easily found. As a result, they shouldn’t be easily moved, especially with Greenard’s work ethic and leadership being so formidable.
Look for a pay raise for Mr. Greenard at some point in the summer if there’s no trade during the three-day event at the end of April.
Elsewhere in the same presser, Coach O’Connell explained that Blake Brandel is working at center. Very good chance, folks, that one of the team’s nine draft picks get sunk into a center.
Toward the end of the Greenard answer, the Vikings’ skipper clarified the priority: “We’re always going to try to do what’s best for our team.” Afterwards, Kevin O’Connell similarly noted the importance of doing what’s best for the player.
Rob Brzezinski has been working in Minnesota for close to three decades. He has been the top decision maker for less than three months. He has yet to pull off a trade.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
