Mike Green
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The Baltimore Ravens are urged to fix an "immense need" by trading second-round pick, edge-rusher Mike Green for a Minnesota Vikings starter.
Jesse Minter has a celebrated background coaching outstanding defenses, but he won’t build one of those for the Baltimore Ravens without acquiring a marquee edge-rusher this offseason, something the team failed to do when using a second-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft to take Mike Green, who is now Minter’s best means of convincing the Minnesota Vikings to send a 38-sack starter on the trade block to M&T Bank Stadium.
Rookie head coach Minter would surely welcome the scenario mapped out by Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports involving Vikings’ Pro Bowl pass-rusher Jonathan Greenard. DeArdo explained how “Baltimore immediately came to mind given its immense need to acquire a proven pass rusher. The Ravens also have salary cap space to accommodate Greenard’s contract and could potentially package a trade with one of their young pass rushers. One potential trade piece here could be Mike Green, a 2025 second-round pick who had just 3.5 sacks as a rookie.”
It’s an enticing trade scenario for the Ravens when Greenard is an ideal fit for what Minter and new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver like to do along the front seven. Greenard’s hybrid skill-set may be worth the Ravens parting with the Day 2 draft pick it will apparently take to get the Vikings to sanction a deal.
That’s a hefty price to pay, but the Ravens may overlook the cost if Minter isn’t convinced Green can meet expectations as a potential breakout candidate.
Jonathan Greenard Perfect for Jesse Minter Defense
Greenard fits the profile for how Minter built his defensive front with the Los Angeles Chargers last season. The former D-coordinator for the Bolts relied on flexible edge defenders like nine-time Pro Bowler Khalil Mack.
Minter was also the man who finally got the most from ex-Ravens draft flop Odafe Oweh. The first-round pick in 2021 recorded 10.5 sacks in 13 games, including the playoffs, on Minter’s watch after being traded to the AFC West last October.
A reunion between Minter and Oweh in Baltimore could solve the issues the Ravens have had getting to quarterbacks, but trading for Greenard would be a greater statement. He’s somebody capable of putting heat on the pocket from either side of the line, something Minter saw up close when Greenard chased down Chargers passer Justin Herbert last season.
This QB takedown showcased Greenard’s impressive closing speed, but he’s also explosive through traffic. Either from a standup position or with his hand down in a three-point stance.
Greenard’s numbers dipped in 2025, but he’s still a proven commodity with back-to-back double-digit sack seasons on his CV from 2023 and ’24. The Ravens don’t have another established quarterback hunter able to match Greenard’s playmaking capability, leaving them set to trust young players like Green, who is defined more by potential than production.
Mike Green Part of a Familiar Problem for Ravens
Green led college football in sacks in 2024, but he couldn’t transfer his dynamic, game-wrecking skills to the pros, despite taking advice from a Ravens legend. The lack of impact from a young, highly-touted edge-rusher is a movie the Ravens have seen before.
They saw the same thing with Oweh, before 2022 second-rounder David Ojabo failed to live up to the billing. Waiting for the light to go on for Ojabo and Green is a game Minter can’t play when, as DeArdo put it, “The Ravens are eager to take the next step while maximizing Lamar Jackson’s and Derrick Henry’s remaining prime seasons. Greenard, a seven-year veteran who has never been beyond the divisional round of the playoffs, would undoubtedly prefer to play somewhere that has legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.”
There’s ample incentive to trade for Greenard, even more so when Dre’Mont Jones, a sneaky success after arriving in trade last season, is set to enter 2026 NFL free agency. Re-signing Jones and packaging together a deal for Greenard would comprehensively solve a familiar and pressing problem for the Ravens and their new regime.