NFL Trade Rumors on Vikings' Jonathan Greenard Amid Aaron Jones, Javon Hargrave Release Buzz

The Minnesota Vikings are "open" to a potential trade of former Pro Bowl linebacker Jonathan Greenard, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Tuesday.

According to Schefter, the Vikings "would like to keep Greenard, but they also have salary cap issues they're working through that have led to these trade conversations."

Greenard posted back-to-back seasons with at least 12 sacks in 2023 and 2024. He was held to just 3.0 sacks in 12 games last season while playing through a shoulder injury.

He is currently set to cost the Vikings $22.15 million against the cap next season, per Over the Cap.

Trading him before June 1 would allow the Vikings to save $12.25 million in cap space, according to Over the Cap.

The news comes two days after Schefter reported the Vikings planned to trade or release running back Aaron Jones and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave by March 11.

Cutting Hargrave before June 1 would save the Vikings $10.96 million in cap space, while Jones' release would save the team $7.75 million, per Over the Cap.

The moves come as the Vikings fight to get under the salary cap before the compliance deadline of March 11.

As of Tuesday, the Vikings were $46.5 million over that hard limit, per Over the Cap.

Cutting Hargrave and Jones in addition to trading Greenard would allow the Vikings to chip almost $31 million away from that total.

Minnesota will need to continue making moves in order to make it under the cap by the start of the league year. ESPN's Aaron Schatz predicted in February that tight end TJ Hockenson would be another cap casualty by the deadline.

Greenard started out his career by playing four seasons with the Houston Texans before joining the Vikings ahead of his Pro Bowl 2024 campaign. He is currently signed through 2027, with cap hits of around $22 million scheduled in each of the next two seasons, per Over the Cap.

He is set to hit unrestricted free agency ahead of his age-31 season in 2028.

Any team trading for Greenard this offseason would hope to see the linebacker bounce back to his previous level of disruption with a healthier 2026 season. Kevin O'Connell said in December that Greenard would be back to "100 percent" after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery over the winter.

The Vikings could meanwhile expect Dallas Turner to step into a regular starting role if Greenard departs this offseason. Turner, a first-rounder from the 2024 draft, played 66 percent of the Vikings' defensive snaps in his second NFL season.