Most Minnesota Vikings fans left the draft on Saturday upbeat about the new haul of players, but inside the war room, the team identified one somber moment: trading OLB Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Minnesota celebrated new rookies while quietly accepting the cost of moving a premier defender.
Greenard was arguably the second-best player on the entire roster; now he works for Nick Sirianni in the NFC East.
Turner Now Gets His Clear Path at OLB
Minnesota didn’t feel joyous about offloading Greenard.
Mood Somber as Greenard Shipped to PHI
Interim general manager Rob Brzezinski pulled the trigger on the Greenard trade on Friday night, and ESPN’s Kevin Seifert tweeted, “Brzezinski and Kevin O’Connell were somber tonight in talking about the Greenard trade.”
And Brzezinski personally said about the swap, “This is not something we’re jumping around excitedly about, but we do feel like we did the best thing for the organization moving forward. We have just spent so much money the last several years that it’s not sustainable for us to move forward. Our salary cap situation has been very, very challenging. The value ends up being what the market will pay, you know.”
“Obviously, JG is a great player, and I’m sure people have a lot of opinions as far as what the appropriate value should be for him. All I can say is, considering everything we thought it was in the best interest of all parties. Again, people can judge whether or not it was fair or reasonable for a player of that caliber, and we understand that. But it’s what the market would pay, and ultimately, we thought it was best for all parties, and that’s why we decided to do it.”
If you felt grimy about getting rid of Greenard, so did the Vikings’ brass.
Trading Quality EDGEs Is Risky Business
Most of the NFL fan community does not consider Minnesota a serious Super Bowl contender in 2026, mainly because Kyler Murray’s stock is low after a quiet 2025 campaign in Arizona. But if you polled Vikings fans, many would disagree, including the team’s coaching staff.
In that regard, trading pass rushers of any kind — especially Pro Bowl ones — is dangerous. Super Bowl-contending teams stock up on EDGEs — hoard them, even — and Minnesota will evidently not subscribe to that philosophy.
There’s a way to thread the needle, staying afloat at EDGE with Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner, and probably a free agent to be named later — like Joey Bosa or A.J. Epenesa — but the Vikings must be careful not to gloss over the position. Like quarterback, a team can’t have underwhelming OLBs.
A Trade Haul Less Than Expected
Meanwhile, Vikings loyalists were largely unenthused by the trade because they had been led to believe that Minnesota wouldn’t pick up the phone for anything less than a 2nd-Rounder. Instead, they accepted a late-3rd-Rounder from last week’s draft and a 3rd-Rounder next year that will probably be “late” if the Eagles remain near the top the NFC.
Too, other trades, like Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens — before the nullification — Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys, and D.J. Moore to the Buffalo Bills, featured substantially higher value for the offloading franchise. Outwardly, the Vikings appeared to accept a discount on Greenard.
It didn’t help that Greenard logged just 3 sacks in 12 games last year, yet still wanted to be paid at a Top 15 EDGE rate.
CBS Sports‘ Tyler Sullivan noted on the deal from the Eagles’ perspective, “The Eagles needed to add someone to their pass-rushing group in the aftermath of losing Phillips in free agency.”
“Philly had the No. 1-ranked scoring defense in the NFL after acquiring Phillips at the deadline last season, so it was a significant hole they needed to fill once he signed with Carolina. Greenard gives them that type of high-level pass rusher, and it comes at a relatively cheap cost in terms of compensation. “
Dallas Turner’s Showtime
The silver lining of the Greenard trade? It’s Turner’s time to erupt.
The 2024 1st-Rounder — who cost the Vikings a fortune via trade — is now in line to start and do so without any veteran in front of him on the depth chart. Turner played wonderfully down the stretch of 2025, but as the club turned to the offseason, many wondered if a path would ever clear for him to be “the guy” at OLB.
That path is now in plain sight.
This is likely how Minnesota’s brass scripted it all along, adding Turner in 2024 and plotting for Greenard’s off-ram a few years down the road. We are here.
Lastly, keep an eye on Vikings rookie safety Jakobe Thomas. He’s the first installment in the fruit of the Greenard trade.
