Reason behind a possible Jonathan Greenard trade comes to light, and it makes complete sense for one key reason

Jonathan Greenard is one of the better values at edge rusher in the NFL.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings are the talk of the NFL on Tuesday with news breaking that they are open to trading star edge rusher Jonathan Greenard.

There are a lot of reasons why the Vikings could end up trading Greenard. They are currently a projected $45 million over the salary cap and it could get interesting for both player and team, especially in trying to find proper value.

NFL insider offers insight on why Jonathan Greenard might be traded

Trading the centerpiece to your defense is a bold strategy that requires a lot of planning and sound reasoning. Money is apparently a serious factor here, as Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported on Tuesday.

At an average annual value of just $19 million, he was vastly underpaid going into the season, especially after the likes of Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt got mega extensions. He currently ranks as the 17th-highest paid edge rusher. I wrote about the idea after the Kansas City Chiefs gave George Karlaftis a huge extension worth $23.25 million per season.

“With Karlaftis, who isn’t as good of a player as Greenard getting $4.25 million on average more than he is, it raises questions about the future for Greenard in Minnesota. If Karlaftis is getting that much in new money, what is the worth of a player like Greenard?

“This is where the Vikings can take initiative and prevent another possible situation like happened with Danielle Hunter. While Greenard didn’t sign a poor contract that left him drastically underpaid like Hunter did, attacking the fact that he’s already trending in the underpaid direction with an extension could be beneficial in more ways than one.

“First off, it gives the Vikings more control over salary cap, as they can maneuver his contract to however they see fit to get themselves into a good position in future years. Second, an extension or a raise now could end up being cheaper than giving him one after the season.”

They chose not to give him the raise he had earned, and now Greenard is asking to be paid like it. He could have done the simple thing and given him that raise to control the salary cap. It could have prevented this issue from even happening. Heck, you can extend him now and do the same thing.

How the Vikings handle things from here will be a fascinating one to watch.

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