Jonathan Greenard Trade Price Comes into Focus
The verdict is up in the air whether Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard will be traded during this week’s draft. And according to The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis, if a team wants Greenard, it will take a middle- to high-end 2nd-Round pick to get the deal across the finish line.
A Day 2 pick could force the issue.
The Vikings could also just keep Greenard rather than create an OLB roster need, but that depends on his contractual asking price.
Greenard’s Next Contract Shapes the Entire Discussion
Would you enjoy a 2nd-Rounder for Greenard?
Lewis: Expect a Pick around No. 49 if Greenard Is Traded
Lewis mentioned Greenard’s trade value on his podcast this week, just days before the draft. He said, “If a team were to try to call and get a Jonathan Greenard deal done, at some point, I would expect the pick to come, like, around that 49 range.”
“That would be a range where it would start to make sense to me. Anything worse than that, I’d say worse than, like 60, you start to have a lot of questions about whether the Vikings would even listen to that as an idea.”
And for curious minds, unrelated to Greenard, Lewis expects the Vikings to draft Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq in Round 1 on Thursday, a curveball theory that has gained steam in the last 72 hours.
The Trade Partners if That Intel Is Correct
Pretend for a moment that Lewis is onto something, and Minnesota executes a deal in the Pick No. 49 range. That would implicate these likely trade partners:
- Kansas City Chiefs (Pick 40)
- New Orleans Saints (Pick 42)
- Miami Dolphins (Pick 43)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Pick 46)
- Indianapolis Colts (Pick 47)
- Atlanta Falcons (Pick 48)
- Carolina Panthers (Pick 51)
- Philadelphia Eagles (Pick 54)
- Los Angeles Chargers (Pick 55)
If the goal is to trade Greenard — no one is too sure whether the Vikings actually want to do that — Lewis’s theory aligns with the proper suitors. The Eagles and Colts have been linked to Greenard ad nauseam in the trade rumor mill. The Chiefs, Dolphins, and Panthers really, really need pass-rushing help.
Suppose the mission is to trade to Greenard to a team in this Round 2 range. It shouldn’t be too difficult, considering the teams in the bunch.
Daily Norseman‘s Christopher Gates noted on a Greenard trade, “Greenard’s cap number for the coming season, according to Over the Cap, is $22.15 million. If the Vikings did agree to a Draft Weekend deal, they would save $12.25 million against the cap while having to eat a dead money hit of $9.9 million.”
“If they did trade him away, they would almost certainly have to use one of their picks in the first two days on a player to try to replace him, one would think.”
The Draft Pick Options
So, what would the Vikings do with the 49th pick? They’d go shopping. The rookie list at that spot might look like this:
- C.J. Allen (LB, Georgia)
- Caleb Banks (DL, Florida)
- Chris Bell (WR, Louisville)
- Germie Bernard (WR, Alabama)
- Brandon Cisse (CB, South Carolina)
- Anthony Hill Jr. (LB, Texas)
- Cashius Howell (EDGE, Texas A&M)
- Lee Hunter (DL, Texas Tech)
- Gabe Jacas (EDGE, Illinois)
- Chris Johnson (CB, San Diego State)
- Malachi Lawrence (EDGE, LSU)
- Christen Miller (DL, Georgia)
- D’Angelo Ponds (CB, Indiana)
- Jadarian Price (RB, Notre Dame)
- Jacob Rodriguez (LB, Texas Tech)
- Eli Stowers (TE, Vanderbilt)
- Treydan Stukes (CB, Arizona)
- Avieon Terrell (CB, Clemson)
- R Mason Thomas (EDGE, Oklahoma)
- Zion Young (EDGE, Missouri)
It’s worth noting that if Minnesota trades Greenard, it may turn around and need an EDGE rusher — like Howell, Jacas, Thomas, or Young.
Greenard’s Soon-to-Be New Deal
Greenard is due for a significant contract — one way or another. The $19 million figure for 2026 is clearly outdated, making it highly improbable he will play under that contract. The market is positioning him for a new deal, likely in the $30-35 million range annually, with the Vikings, Eagles, or another team. The trajectory underscores his perceived value.
Should such a deal materialize, the pressure will be on Greenard to justify it, beginning with significantly increased sack production, well beyond his 3-sack total in 2025. Approaching 29 in five weeks, he remains well-positioned for another lucrative contract, even if this next agreement proves to be the final massive one of his career.
Most Vikings fans understandably wish to retain him. Elite pass rushers of Greenard’s caliber are rare. However, a sufficiently compelling trade offer could swiftly alter those sentiments.
The Vikings’ defense ranks third leaguewide in 2025 per EPA/Play and DVOA.
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