Minnesota Vikings Defender Named Potential Huge ‘Bust’

The Minnesota Vikings lost top edge rusher Danielle Hunter in free agency, but they replaced him with a pair of fine pass rushers in Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.

However, Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon thinks that the signing of Greenard may backfire on the Vikings.

Minnesota inked Greenard to a four-year, $76 million deal, giving him $42 million in guaranteed money. Gagnon thinks that may be too much.

Gagnon cites Greenard’s inconsistency as a reason for why he could end up being a bust for the Vikings and doesn’t think he is worth $19 million annually.

Greenard is coming off of a breakout 2023 campaign with the Houston Texans in which he racked up 52 tackles, 12.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

But Gagnon is right: consistency has been a major issue for the 26-year-old.

Greenard, who played his collegiate football at both Louisville and the University of Florida, was selected by the Texans in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

He played in 13 games during his rookie campaign, logging just 19 tackles and one sack. The following year, Greenard looked like he was breaking through, as he rattled off 33 tackles, eight sacks and a couple of forced fumbles in 12 contests. However, he took a major step back in 2022, recording 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery and a defensive touchdown in eight affairs.

Injuries have obviously been a major problem for Greenard, as well, as he has never played a full season, topping out at 15 games in 2023.

We’ll see if Minnesota ends up regretting handing Greenard such a lucrative long-term deal over the course of the next several years.