All Things 2026 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

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Eagles get: Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, No. 244
Vikings get: No. 98, 2027 third-round pick

Eagles grade: A-
Vikings grade: C

The long-rumored Greenard trade to the Eagles happened Friday.

The veteran edge rusher immediately fills a need for Philadelphia, which needed more pass-rushing juice from the outside. Greenard is coming off an injury-shortened 2025 campaign in which he recorded only three sacks in 12 games. But Greenard still delivered on a down-to-down basis last season, with a 23.3% pass rush win rate at edge that would have ranked fourth at the position had he played enough to qualify. And that followed a 2024 season in which Greenard recorded 12 sacks and ranked 10th in pass rush win rate at edge. He ranked in the top 10 in PRWR in 2023 with Houston, too.

So, it's fair to say that the Eagles are getting a legitimate top edge rusher and a major upgrade over Jalyx Hunt to pair with Nolan Smith Jr. The trade compensation is real -- two third-round picks is significant -- but they are getting Greenard at what I consider a below-market contract, signing him to a new four-year, $100 million deal.

www.espn.com

2026 NFL draft trade grades: Sizing up deals for top picks

We're grading the most impactful trades of the 2026 NFL draft, including the Saints trading for the former first-rounder.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

howeda7 said:
Grenard was demanding a huge raise, which he got from the Eagles. Keeping and extending an expensive 30 year old edge rusher who's blocking Dallas Turner didn't make a lot of sense.

Two 3rd's is the equivalent of a 2nd round pick which was long estimated as Grenard's trade value.

Whether they whiff on the picks is a separate issue.
Click to expand...

I have no problem getting someone out of the building who had an off year to injury, production was down, and wants a big new contract with a bunch more money. I'm fine with the move.

People need to discern the numbers and production and play for D. Turner based on the various roles he played. When he was filling in for Van Ginkel, he was solid and he was just "fine". When he filled in for Greenard, his more natural position, his production and impact were considerably better. Now he'll get to play in that position. And Turner just turned 23 a couple months ago.

This is a salary cap league, sometimes these decisions have to be made.

Another thing people need to keep in mind; does anyone really think Greenard was traded away against the wishes of Brian Flores? That he didn't buy off on the move? Get real.
 


Access journalism is what we are left with in 2026. Reporters are told what to say. See JJ Mac is great spring of 2025 stories.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
I have no problem getting someone out of the building who had an off year to injury, production was down, and wants a big new contract with a bunch more money. I'm fine with the move.

People need to discern the numbers and production and play for D. Turner based on the various roles he played. When he was filling in for Van Ginkel, he was solid and he was just "fine". When he filled in for Greenard, his more natural position, his production and impact were considerably better. Now he'll get to play in that position. And Turner just turned 23 a couple months ago.

This is a salary cap league, sometimes these decisions have to be made.

Another thing people need to keep in mind; does anyone really think Greenard was traded away against the wishes of Brian Flores? That he didn't buy off on the move? Get real.
Click to expand...

So now we have salary cap issues again? I was told all offseason it wasn't a problem. And it especially wasn't a problem after all of the space they cleared.
 



Honest, excellent article about how economics drove the trade from Lewis.

One snippet -

The Vikings saved almost $34 million in salary-cap space with this decision. Perhaps just as important, they now have the financial flexibility to maneuver through a bevy of future decisions, like the quarterback position, a potential extension for right tackle Brian O’Neill and Jordan Addison’s future.


With this link you should be able to view the article

www.nytimes.com

Why the Vikings traded Jonathan Greenard to the Eagles, even though it made the team worse

The Vikings traded one of their best defensive players to Philadelphia on Friday. Why? It's mostly about money.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
So now we have salary cap issues again? I was told all offseason it wasn't a problem. And it especially wasn't a problem after all of the space they cleared.
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Every team has to consider the salary cap when making decisions. This move will free up cap space to extend other players they prefer to keep.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Every team has to consider the salary cap when making decisions. This move will free up cap space to extend other players they prefer to keep.
Click to expand...

I understand but the move makes the team worse for a team that is allegedly 'win now'. After having one of the highest paid rosters in the NFL last season, they are straight cost cutting mode. And doing it all without a real GM.

The Wilfs are quickly approaching the Pohlads as the worst owners in this market.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
I understand but the move makes the team worse for a team that is allegedly 'win now'. After having one of the highest paid rosters in the NFL last season, they are straight cost cutting mode. And doing it all without a real GM.

The Wilfs are quickly approaching the Pohlads as the worst owners in this market.
Click to expand...
“Bah Gawd, that’s Ope’s music!”
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
I understand but the move makes the team worse for a team that is allegedly 'win now'. After having one of the highest paid rosters in the NFL last season, they are straight cost cutting mode. And doing it all without a real GM.

The Wilfs are quickly approaching the Pohlads as the worst owners in this market.
Click to expand...
But isn't the difference being that they will almost certainly spend the money elsewhere, they aren't just sitting on it. The move freed up money down the road more than this year, I believe.
 

GophersInIowa said:
But isn't the difference being that they will almost certainly spend the money elsewhere, they aren't just sitting on it. The move freed up money down the road more than this year, I believe.
Click to expand...

They aren't spending the money on anyone that will help them this year. That's why it's a salary dump.

The Vikings are spending 100 million less on this years roster compared to last years. Last year they were ranked 2, currently heading into this season they are now ranked 27th.
 



Trading Grenard doesn't make them better in 2026. But because of Turner it also doesn't make them much worse. It likely does make them better in 2027.
 


GophersInIowa said:
But isn't the difference being that they will almost certainly spend the money elsewhere, they aren't just sitting on it. The move freed up money down the road more than this year, I believe.
Click to expand...
Already covered in my post above, 937. Some people are only happy when they’re complaining😃. Do they ever post anything remotely positive?

Post in thread 'All Things 2026 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread'
https://gopherhole.com/boards/threa...vikings-off-season-thread.120674/post-3318929
 

howeda7 said:
The defense ranked 3rd last year while Grenard had 3 sacks and missed a bunch of games.
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As I noted bin another thread, Turned lead the vines in sacks.

I’m putting him down for 12+ this year.
 

howeda7 said:
The defense ranked 3rd last year while Grenard had 3 sacks and missed a bunch of games.
Click to expand...
He played 12 games (left during the Baltimore game while we were within 3, followed by us losing against GB and Chicago where we generated 3 total sacks) and they shut him down early to play Turner when we were by and large eliminated from the postseason with a couple games to go.
Per ESPN: "In 12 games during the 2025 campaign, Greenard had 47 quarterback pressures and a pass rush win rate of 23.3 percent. Pro Football Focus rated Greenard as the 18th-best pass-rush graded player (77.6) among 118 qualifying edge rushers."
At time of injury, per PFF: According to analytics site Pro Football Focus, his 31 quarterback hurries rank 13th in the league among all edge defenders and lead the Vikings by a wide margin; Jalen Redmond is next closest with 23 hurries.

Idc that we traded him tbh, but he would absolutely make us better for this year. Turner really came on at the end of the year but he still finished 63rd amongst qualifying edges per PFF.

That being said, you have to find out at some point if he's got the chops to be your lead dog going forward. Just wish they'd tried to get more out the deal for Greenard as getting some 3rd probably doesn't really move the needle for us this year or over the next 2-3 years (about 1/4 of guys picked in the 3rd round end up being starters in their first 4 years)
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I understand but the move makes the team worse for a team that is allegedly 'win now'. After having one of the highest paid rosters in the NFL last season, they are straight cost cutting mode. And doing it all without a real GM.

The Wilfs are quickly approaching the Pohlads as the worst owners in this market.
Click to expand...
GopherWeatherGuy said:
I knew you'd like that. And after initially disagreeing with you on this, the more I see, the more I hate with how the Wilf's are running this.
Click to expand...

So those Grade "A" rankings the Vikings NFLPA give Ownership year after year aren't providing you any solace either?!?

Brace yourself for a retort and debate that somehow all is dandy under the Wilfs from GGrit.

Glen Taylor selling, reniging and then ultimately losing in arbitration ownership of the Wolves to Lore-ARod certainly cleared the way for multiple suspects to take over as Worst Pro Owners in the Twin Cities market.

Sadly, there several ways to fail.
 

Marney’s nard dog was going to go into full pout mode and they did the right thing.
 

howeda7 said:
Grenard was demanding a huge raise, which he got from the Eagles. Keeping and extending an expensive 30 year old edge rusher who's blocking Dallas Turner didn't make a lot of sense.

Two 3rd's is the equivalent of a 2nd round pick which was long estimated as Grenard's trade value.

Whether they whiff on the picks is a separate issue.
Click to expand...
If I'm going to pick on your for having putrid bad takes (as you tend to do), then I have to tip my cap to you when you get it dead nuts on, as you did here. Absolutely nailed it.
 

Trading Greenard has got to be one of the easiest things to understand and accept. It really is quite simple.

 

There's only one person bitching about the Greenard trade, and it's a guy who absolutely got his ass handed to him for being head over heels thinking McCarthy was going to be a major hit ... and now he trolls every chance he gets trying to nitpick at any little thing against the Vikings and KOC out of spite.
 

Slim Tubby said:
This is certainly a fair take but I share GWG's lack of confidence in our FO. This has rather quickly become a dysfunctional organization from both an Operational and Ownership perspective.
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:
 


Slim Tubby said:
Eagles get: Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, No. 244
Vikings get: No. 98, 2027 third-round pick

Eagles grade: A-
Vikings grade: C

The long-rumored Greenard trade to the Eagles happened Friday.

The veteran edge rusher immediately fills a need for Philadelphia, which needed more pass-rushing juice from the outside. Greenard is coming off an injury-shortened 2025 campaign in which he recorded only three sacks in 12 games. But Greenard still delivered on a down-to-down basis last season, with a 23.3% pass rush win rate at edge that would have ranked fourth at the position had he played enough to qualify. And that followed a 2024 season in which Greenard recorded 12 sacks and ranked 10th in pass rush win rate at edge. He ranked in the top 10 in PRWR in 2023 with Houston, too.

So, it's fair to say that the Eagles are getting a legitimate top edge rusher and a major upgrade over Jalyx Hunt to pair with Nolan Smith Jr. The trade compensation is real -- two third-round picks is significant -- but they are getting Greenard at what I consider a below-market contract, signing him to a new four-year, $100 million deal.

www.espn.com

2026 NFL draft trade grades: Sizing up deals for top picks

We're grading the most impactful trades of the 2026 NFL draft, including the Saints trading for the former first-rounder.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
Click to expand...
You just went hunting for someone to say what you wanted them to say.

How many times has Seth Walder got his ass handed to him? How many times has he been an NFL head coach?

Who gives a crap what he thinks?

I'll hang up and listen.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
So now we have salary cap issues again? I was told all offseason it wasn't a problem. And it especially wasn't a problem after all of the space they cleared.
Click to expand...
If KOC and Flores wanted to make it a priority to re-sign Greenard at the top 10 level his money hungry pig of an agent demanded, then he would have been signed long ago.

It wasn't a priority. Plain and simple
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I understand but the move makes the team worse for a team that is allegedly 'win now'. After having one of the highest paid rosters in the NFL last season, they are straight cost cutting mode. And doing it all without a real GM.

The Wilfs are quickly approaching the Pohlads as the worst owners in this market.
Click to expand...
Not. Even. Close.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
They aren't spending the money on anyone that will help them this year. That's why it's a salary dump.

The Vikings are spending 100 million less on this years roster compared to last years. Last year they were ranked 2, currently heading into this season they are now ranked 27th.
Click to expand...
Thus proving that the cash spent "metric" is fake as hell and you purposefully selected it to a be a fake point.

Bonuses don't matter.

Average yearly value and actual cap hit matter. You know it too
 

A few points regarding Grenard,

1. If he doesn’t get a raise, than that’s two years he has to sux it up - long time.

2. Vikes had to find a trading partner who was willing to give home the raise and extend him - that of course limits your options.
 

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