Vikings pass rusher Jonathan Greenard gears up for Texans showdown with 'respect'

An IV pumped liquids into his arm. This was last September, an hour before the Houston Texans kicked off a divisional matchup in Jacksonville against the Jaguars. Jonathan Greenard, then an edge rusher for Houston, lay on a training table in the locker room, fueling up for the fight.

You can imagine the scene. The sounds of tape being wrapped around players’ ankles. Others hunched over in chairs at their lockers. Eyes closed. Heads bobbing. Headphones drowning out the world.

Greenard was deep in his game prep — and then he was interrupted.

His music paused, and his phone lit up. His wife, Alta, was calling from Houston. She had been pregnant for months, and they’d been expecting. She wasted no time once Greenard answered.

“My water broke,” she said.

He panicked. Was she OK? Did she need help? Did he need to detach from his IV right this second, call an Uber and board the first flight out of town? Greenard considered it, but Alta calmed him. He remembers hearing her spoon through the phone clinking against a bowl of cereal. She said he had time, but he was still stressed.

Texans coaches asked him what he wanted to do. Greenard talked to his sister and mother-in-law, and they eased his concern about playing. They believed he’d still make it in time. By the time the ball was kicked off, Texans owners Cal and Hannah McNair learned of the situation and outlined a plan to transport Greenard immediately from the stadium to their private plane.

After the Texans won, Greenard exited the field and took a quick shower. He listened to head coach DeMeco Ryans’ postgame speech, received a game ball, sprinted to a van to meet the McNairs, walked onto their jet and flew back to Houston, where he held hands with Alta and welcomed little Rayna.

“I’m here now and I’m blessed,” Greenard says, “but those owners and that organization will always have my respect and love for how they handled that.”

He is here now in Eagan, Minn., almost a year later. Rayna’s first birthday is next Tuesday, and most of Greenard’s family is flying into town this weekend to celebrate. And how about this for a coincidence? It just so happens the Vikings host the Texans on Sunday.

This all throws a wrench into the classic NFL narrative: Player leaves team; player’s new team matches up with old team the next year; player performs well against old team and flaunts the victory afterward. In Greenard’s case, this would make even more sense given the team chose not to re-sign him in free agency, instead opting for an older edge rusher who, ironically, had previously played in Minnesota: Danielle Hunter.

Does the McNairs’ empathy mean Greenard won’t be fidgeting on the training table an hour before kickoff Sunday, ready to hand it to his former team? Of course not. You do not become an NFL player without a burning desire to prove your worth. But it doesn’t feel like there’s any animosity when you speak to Greenard, and that level of awareness is apparent throughout this swap of edge rushers.

Minnesota loved Hunter’s pass-rush ability and imposing presence, but the Vikings also knew Hunter was nearing 30 years old and had suffered serious injuries in the past. They preferred youth and versatility, especially given Hunter’s asking price. The Texans, who were benefitting from quarterback C.J. Stroud’s rookie contract, had drifted into win-now mode. Paying Hunter, one of the most accomplished active pass rushers, would not limit them elsewhere. Houston ponied up $49 million over two years for Hunter, and the Vikings moved on.

Enter Greenard, whom the Vikings had studied for months. His 12.5 sacks in 2023 showed serious promise. His pass-rush productivity in 2023 ranked a notch above Hunter, according to Pro Football Focus. And while he preferred to rush on the right side of the line of scrimmage, he displayed more two-sided potential than Hunter. These aren’t knocks on Hunter, who, again, is revered by Minnesota’s staff. Instead, they’re data points that eased the transition at edge rusher.

“You see the film, and you’re like, ‘That guy is one of us,’” says Vikings assistant head coach Mike Pettine. “We want tough, passionate guys who go 100 miles an hour.”

The Vikings coaching staff and personnel department conversed frequently about the future of their defensive front. When defensive coordinator Brian Flores offered his thoughts on players, he also discussed how his staff would use them in real time. Once free agency began, Minnesota signed Greenard to a four-year, $76 million contract, about $5.5 million less in average annual value than Hunter received.

Greenard arrived at the TCO Performance Center with his young family and proved in the spring he could make an immediate impact. Following the first practice, Greenard led the defenders in what would become a tradition: post-practice abdominal workouts. His voice carried over theirs while they did crunches and situps. Greenard joked with them and was a vocal presence in the locker room, which was different from Hunter, who led mostly by his work ethic and his example. Had you just arrived this summer in Eagan, you’d have thought they’d all been friends for years.

But that’s Greenard. His parents divorced when he entered fourth grade, forcing his family into multiple moves across Georgia. Each new school forced him to learn how to fit in quickly. Again in college, he played three seasons at Louisville, then transferred to Florida. Assimilating into a new environment is as core to Greenard’s path as rushing the passer.

“He is a guy who is great for your culture,” Pettine says. “He’s very outspoken in a good way. If there is a bit of a lull, he’s not afraid to speak up. He’s not one of those guys who is just ‘rah, rah’ for any reason. He’s very selective with it. Which makes it very effective.”

Scan the sack leaderboards, and you won’t find Greenard near the top. His only sack this season came on a chase-down of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy last Sunday.

More advanced statistics, however, paint a different picture of his first two games with the Vikings. Greenard ranks eighth among 48 qualified NFL edge rushers in pressure rate. He has 10 hurries, ranking second in the league. But that’s not what this is about.

This is about two teams prioritizing different qualities in pass rushers — and both benefitting from their decisions. This is about appreciating the past but enjoying a new beginning. Sometimes it’s as simple and profound as that.