The Minnesota Vikings‘ Jonathan Greenard is happy for his former Houston Texans teammate Will Anderson Jr., who has reset the market for edge rushers after his record-setting contract.
On April 17, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported, citing sources, that the Texans and Anderson agreed to a historic three-year, $150 million extension to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback.
As a result, that led to Greenard posting about the news on via an Instagram story, where he was blunt with his reaction.
“Omfg,” Greenard wrote (h/t VikingzFanPage). “I love him.”
Greenard and Anderson were teammates in Houston during the 2023 season. While the Vikings veteran is happy for his former teammate, Greenard is also looking for a new contract as he’ll have one more year left on his current deal after the 2026 season.
While the Vikings pass rusher won’t be getting what Anderson received, the price for pass rushers has gone up, and Greenard might be looking to benefit, whether that’s with Minnesota or elsewhere, given that the player is in the trade speculation as the 2026 NFL Draft approaches on April 23.
With the Vikings last season, Greenard posted a 74.2 overall defensive grade from PFF, placing 31st out of 115 qualified edge defenders in 2025. His pass-rush grade came in at 77.6, good for 18th, while his 77.8 run-defense grade ranked 12th at the position.
He finished the year with 47 total pressures, including four sacks, 35 hurries, and eight hits. Moreover, he recorded 24 solo tackles and forced one fumble.
Vikings Get Blunt Outlook on Potential Jonathan Greenard Trade
While some would expect a Greenard trade to happen around the draft, Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton believes a deal would come afterward, when teams that miss on edge-rushing targets could turn to him.
“Entering his age-29 campaign, not far removed from consecutive 12-plus-sack seasons, Greenard should be able to fetch a middle-round pick,” Moton wrote in his article published on April 15.
“… Assuming Greenard has a solid trade market, Minnesota may be waiting for suitors to up the ante on compensation during the draft. Clubs that need an edge-rusher but pass on prospects at the position will be primary candidates to acquire a veteran next week.
“Also worth noting: the Vikings can save $12.3 million in cap space by trading Greenard. He may be expendable after 2024 first-rounder Dallas Turner registered eight sacks in a rotational role last season.”
Minnesota Urged to Keep Jonathan Greenard Amid Trade Speculation
Nonetheless, with the Vikings looking to compete this upcoming season, should Minnesota keep the veteran edge rusher rather than secure assets for him? ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick stated that the Vikings would be better off keeping the veteran.
“When you have guys like Jonathan and Dallas [Turner] and Andrew [Van Ginkel], those are guys who you can kind of get drawn into, like playing this kind of fantasy football type of scenario a little bit too much when you’re talking about trading guys away who play premium positions who have the kind of game-changing ability like Jonathan has, like Dallas Turner has,” Riddick told KSTP in an April 13 video.
“I don’t like getting into that too much as far as constantly playing, having this revolving door, and saying, you know what, we can trade him, get some assets, and we’ll just replace him.
“It’s not always that easy. I like kind of getting guys, developing them, and arrive at fair market value, where you feel a little bit uncomfortable with maybe what you gave him. The player feels a little bit uncomfortable with maybe what he left on the table. But simply because you know it’s what’s best for the football team.”
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